UK National Measurement Laboratory at LGC
UK National Measurement Laboratory at LGC
Key findings for 2022
2022 was a deeply challenging year for consumers. Food prices rose at a faster rate than inflation for much of the year and were accompanied by sharp increases in other household expenses, adding to the strain on people’s finances. Overall spending on in-home food reduced by 6.9% in 2022 compared to 2021. Oils and spreads, dairy and alternatives, and fish, eggs, meat and other proteins experienced faster price rises than other Eatwell Guide food groups - all of them essential elements in many people’s diets. FSA and FSS focus group research showed people across a wide range of income brackets were making compromises such as swapping out premium brands for budget ranges or eating out less in a bid to cut costs.
A record number of households – one in five across England, Wales and Northern Ireland – were classified as food insecure in 2022, meaning that their diet and/or food intake had been limited in some way due to their financial or personal circumstances. Similar evidence of increased food insecurity can be seen in Scottish data. A minority of people across the UK also reported cutting corners on food preparation and hygiene, including reducing their use of fridges and freezers or reducing the length of time they cooked their food, to reduce energy bills.
The global food system had to adapt to abrupt shifts in trading patterns as traditional supply lines were disrupted for some commodities. Though the available data from border checks does not indicate any shift in the safety of goods arriving from outside the EU, the UK has increased the number of high-risk foods now subject to enhanced checks at the border, partly in response to concerns about pesticide residues and other toxins in products from certain countries. As EU imports are not currently checked, we cannot comment authoritatively on the safety of goods arriving from the EU.
As we develop new trading partnerships, FSA and FSS will continue to advise government on whether new free trade agreements (FTAs) uphold statutory food safety protections. To support the public’s interest in understanding the wider production values of imported food, FSA and FSS are also exploring how to address the lack of robust, international data on issues such as animal welfare and environmental and ethical production standards.
Although food businesses have also experienced sharp rises in their costs, the latest inspection data suggests this has not translated into any detectable reduction in compliance with food hygiene standards. Based on the latest inspection data as at the end of 2022, the vast majority of food businesses had met food hygiene standards at the point when they were last inspected.
Meanwhile the number of local authority inspections carried out returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in 2022. This is an important milestone, but it should be noted there were still approximately 39,500 unrated businesses at the end of 2022 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Adequate resourcing is vital for ensuring food hygiene rules are upheld, but the FSA’s analysis of local authority staffing shows there are approximately 14% fewer food safety posts being funded across England, Wales and Northern Ireland compared to a decade ago – and even where these posts do exist, over 13% are vacant.
The situation in Scotland is more pronounced, where there are 25% fewer food safety posts than in 2016. There have also been reductions in food standards and food law officer posts across the UK, further challenging the ability of local authorities to carry out essential checks on food authenticity, composition and information standards. In 2022, both FSA and FSS had to take additional measures to address the ongoing resourcing challenges being faced by the veterinary profession – particularly in the recruitment of Official Veterinarians (OVs).
Analysis of reported food incidents and foodborne disease outbreaks, the results of national sampling programmes delivered by FSA, FSS and Defra, and the available intelligence on food crime do not suggest there has been any significant change in food safety and authenticity standards during 2022. However, we are concerned about ongoing breaches in food composition labelling in relation to allergens. To address this, further collaboration with local
authorities and food businesses will be required.
Read full report.
One of our Partners, Tenet Compliance & Litigation, has published issue 9 of its newsletter, the Secret Ingredient - Improving Your Fraud Prevention Planning.
The Secret Ingredient is Tenet's quarterly newsletter focused on preventing fraud and financial crime in the food and beverage sector.
This issue includes articles on:
👉 How APP fraud can infiltrate international supply chains
👉 Tenet's Global Expertise
👉 Anchoring disputes in England & Wales
👉 Risk management in the food sector.
The Government Chemist and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have published a sampling protocol for the collection of honey reference samples.
This protocol, the first of its kind in the world, defines a practical and pragmatic process for obtaining reference samples at different points in the honey supply chain, and specifies what associated records, documents and other considerations are necessary for a sample to be deemed acceptable for inclusion in a honey authenticity database.
The protocol is also available through the Defra website and has been added to the 'Guides' tab of the 'Tools_Guides_Reports' part of our 'Food Fraud Prevention' section of our website.
The UK Food Standards Agency has published a report that has developed a Cost of Food Crime (CoFC) model, which identifies and measures the economic and social cost of food crime.
The full report can be accessed here.
Earlier this year, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) commissioned the UK National Reference Laboratory for GMOs based at LGC (Teddington), to deliver a desk-based review of the current state-of-the-art associated with methods for the potential detection of (PBOs) in the food and feed supply chains.
Precision Bred Organisms represent organisms which possess genetic variability resulting from the application of modern biotechnology, which could also have arisen through traditional processes. In March 2023 the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act was passed in the UK, which brought forward primary legislation to amend the regulatory definition of a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO), to exclude from it those organisms that have genetic changes that could also have arisen through traditional processes.
The report, written by Malcolm Burns and Gavin Nixon, captures use of sector specific terminology and related international developments. A focus is given on the current scope and challenges for the analytical detection of specific DNA sequences alongside supportive traceability tools inclusive of reference materials and databases. The report provides a series of recommendations towards helping develop a framework for the traceability of PBOs as well as some of the future analytical challenges this presents.
The report will be of interest to scientists and analysts involved in developing molecular biology assays for the detection of small DNA sequence changes, government departments and related stakeholders involved in assessing the efficacy of methods for the traceability of PBOs, as well as to a broader audience (e.g., academia, industry, retailers, etc.,) who are interested in some of the scope and challenges that detection of PBOs may present.
Thanks again to FAN member Bruno Sechet of Integralim (www.integralim.net) who has formatted the JRC monthly food fraud report as this pictorial infographic.
The original report, along with those from previous months, can be found here.
Remember that you can sign up on the JRC website to be notified when each report is published.
A new vacancy for a Senior Prevention and Relationship Management Officer has arisen at the Food Standards Agency's National Food Crime Unit (NFCU).
You will lead and line manage a team ensuring delivery of Prepare, Prevent and Protect projects, enabling the NFCU to achieve the intended outcomes of its 4P strategic and tactical action plans. Working closely with the food industry, other regulatory partners and internal partners, within the NFCU and wider FSA, the team work to support identification and mitigation of known vulnerabilities and emerging threats and risks. You’ll nurture and encourage the team to develop and implement innovative methods and tactics, from conception to delivery, which protect food businesses and the public.
You'll be playing your part in keeping food safe and what it says it is, and protecting UK consumers from deceptive practices in the food sector.
For further information / to apply: Senior Prevention and Relationship Management Officer - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK
The deadline is 3rd September 2023.
The Government Chemist undertakes quarterly reviews of developments in food and feed law and related scientific and regulatory issues. The reports track changes in food and agricultural legislation, concentrating on legislative changes that relate to chemical measurement and the role of the Government Chemist.
They cover food safety, food authenticity, food labelling, and also include general issues in food and feed to ensure contextual awareness.
The collection of quarterly review reports can be found at: Food and Feed Law: legislation review - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
A link to this collection has also been added to the 'Legislation' part of our 'Policy-Guidance-Law section'.
The latest in the series, the June update is now available.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has this week launched its Food Crime Risk Profiling Tool, an online programme which allows companies to assess their vulnerabilities to criminality.
Using the tool allows businesses to assess themselves against a series of statements on topics, such as how they source materials and their supply methods, before being given an individual report at the end which will highlight areas of good practice as well including specific guidance on areas they may wish to improve on.
To support businesses through this process, FSS will be holding several free online workshops later this year to help develop opportunities to increase authenticity and improve food crime resilience – those who sign up to the tool will receive an invite to the workshops.
For more information and to sign up to the tool, visit: https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/food-crime-risk-profiling-tool
The tool has also been added to the Tools_Guides_Reports part of our Food Fraud Prevention section.
The report for a project (FA0197) funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the Implications of emerging novel proteins for food authenticity and labelling has been published.
The project focused on potential emerging risks regarding authenticity and labelling of alternative protein products, how these products may fit under the current regulatory framework for food labelling and how current testing capability can support product authentication and detection of emerging fraud risks in this sector.
The report has been added to the Research section of this website.
Key findings
Authenticity and fraud
According to the sources consulted for this review, little consideration has been given to potential food fraud in the alternative protein sector, especially by innovators and producers. However, the developments in the field inevitably will carry associated risks of food fraud. Situations that might act as drivers of food fraud such as the alternative protein being more expensive or harder to source than the equivalent animal protein can be envisaged, especially with new technologies/sources that may not yet be well established and require pre-market regulatory approval. Ingredient substitution can occur in any
category and direction, alternative for conventional and vice versa.
For some novel products, the supply chain may be more complicated and fragmented, and this may make them more vulnerable to fraud. Adulteration of proteins in powder forms has been identified as high risk, and verification of recombinant animal proteins produced by precision fermentation (as distinct from animal-derived proteins) as a challenge.
Analytical tools
Current analytical methods for food authentication will face issues such as a lack of genome data for novel species, the effect of novel processing techniques on biomolecules, identification of animal proteins produced by precision fermentation or identification of cell lines used for cultivated meat products.
Since the extent of processing can affect the efficacy of analytical methodologies, some existing methods may require updating to be effective on materials due to the more highly processed nature of many novel foods. Genomic information for the species used as sources of protein is required along with proteomics and metabolomics databases and bioinformatics tools to support analytical methods. Spectroscopy techniques and orthogonal methods that integrate data from different technologies are regarded as powerful tools that will support verification of alternative protein products.
Additional tools to support authenticity of alternative proteins
In addition to analytical methods, the wider food supply chain control systems must evolve to accommodate emerging complexities. Areas identified as potentially promising to mitigate food fraud risks include:
• Computational solutions: block chain, big data, artificial intelligence
• Integration of computational tools with analytical technologies such as sensors or molecular markers
• Standards and certification schemes
Labelling of alternative proteins
There are two main points of debate around labelling of alternative proteins globally: (i) the concern about the use of descriptors traditionally used for animal-derived products to label and market substitutes made of non-animal protein, and (ii) the question of transparency about the methods of production. Regarding names, as well as imagery used on labels, the regulations vary across countries and, with the fast development of novel products, the issue is a current topic of debate. In the UK, food information and labelling are governed by the Food Information to Consumers Regulation 1169/2011. This regulation outlines the general requirement for labelling to be clear, easy to understand, visible and not misleading as to the characteristics and nature of the food. Additionally, the Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulations, retained from EU legislation dealing with sales descriptions for dairy, reserves the term milk, and various milk product terms exclusively for dairy. However, meat terms do not have the same degree of protection, and descriptors such as ‘burger’ or ‘sausage’, as well as related imagery are used in the alternative protein sector.
Regarding methods of production, in some cases, there may be a conflict between providing transparency and the technical complexities of the methods. Using terminology that is clear for consumers may be difficult, for example, there is debate about the most appropriate name for meat produced in vitro, as terms like ‘cultured’, ‘cultivated’, ‘synthetic’, ‘lab-grown’, etc, may be viewed by consumers as unclear or negative. The evidence found during this project (stakeholder interviews, early consumer research found in literature, comments from conference) mostly supports the use of terms that refer
to the format of the product (burger, sausage, etc) as long as the label clearly states the non-animal source, although further research into consumer perceptions of APs is needed to fully understand this emerging area.
Future research needs
Short-term (0 – 3 years)
• Impact of new processing technologies on performance of existing authenticity tests.
o Survey of existing AP products for which DNA or protein-based speciation methods exist to assess performance.
o Studies on products and techniques under development, e.g, 3-D printing, new extraction methods.
• Identify and address points of vulnerability in the supply chain.
• Methods for detection of adulteration with nitrogen compounds.
• Investigate biomarkers to support authenticity testing of APs (plant-based, mycoproteins, precision fermentation).
• Support databases as tools for authenticity testing – genome, proteome, metabolome, spectral data, isotope ratios. Collaboration and data sharing are essential.
• Research into allergenicity potential and allergen detection in APs. Although this falls under the safety assessment of foods and therefore outside Defra’s remit, it is tightly linked to food authenticity and labelling, and the ability to verify food composition.
Medium-term (3-5 years)
• Build on learnings and develop new detection methods using biomarkers identified, new databases, knowledge of how new technologies may alter biomolecules.
• Develop reference materials to support testing of AP.
• Validate testing methods across laboratories.
• Build on biomarkers and methods to cover other categories of AP such as insect protein, algae protein.
• Continue to work on databases expanding to new sources of proteins - genome, proteome, metabolome, spectral data, isotope ratios.
• Engage with big data, artificial intelligence, block chain initiatives and research into application to food authenticity.
• Identify and address points of vulnerability in the supply chain.
• Analyse fraud in the AP sector to inform improvements to control and development of testing tools to support risk mitigation.
Long-term (5+ years)
• Continue to build on biomarkers and methods to cover other categories of AP such as cultivated meat and seafood, novel microorganisms grown for biomass.
• Continue to assess the AP food supply chain to adapt to increasing complexities (new sources of raw materials, novel technologies, sourcing ingredients from different countries, etc). Additional research on traceability and authenticity of new ingredients.
• Continue to develop big data and computational tools and integration with testing methodologies.
Photo by Deryn Macey on Unsplash
Abstract
This article has two main objectives:
Read full paper.
One of our Partners, Tenet Compliance & Litigation, has published issue 8 of its newsletter, the Secret Ingredient - Improving Your Fraud Prevention Planning.
The Secret Ingredient is Tenet's quarterly newsletter focused on preventing fraud and financial crime in the food and beverage sector.
This issue includes articles on:
👉 Managing fraud investigations: an in-house perspective
👉 Brexit: Have we lost control?
👉 Investigative tools provided by the civil courts: Part 4
👉 Counterfeiting: what to do if your brand is the target.
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is a bicameral body in the UK Parliament. POST has published a note (POSTnote) on measuring sustainable enviroment-food system interactions.
This POSTnote describes environmental impact metrics for food systems, which are complex networks of decision-makers, natural processes and human activities.
Overview
This POSTnote has also been added to the Policy-Guidance-Law section of this website.
A new vacancy for a Senior Intelligence Analyst has arisen at the Food Standards Agency's National Food Crime Unit (NFCU).
The role will be focussing on the delivery and assurance of NFCU's tactical and strategic intelligence analysis to better understand and communicate the food crime threat, as well as the support and development of NFCU's analyst and researcher cadre.
You'll be playing your part in keeping food safe and what it says it is, and protecting UK consumers from deceptive practices in the food sector.
Home or hybrid working is available for this post.
The deadline is 6th August 2023.
For further information / to apply: Senior Intelligence Analyst - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK
This 52 minutes documentary "The Criminals Running Our Food Chain - Food Fraud: An Organised Crime? ", published in 2021, is now publicly available - see below.
The documentary covers some well known food fraud issues encountered in recent years and includes an account of some of the food fraud prevention activities that have been deployed to combat food fraud.
We are delighted that the Food Authenticity Network (FAN) has been shortlisted for supporting business resilience in the FDF Awards 2023!
The winners will be announced at the FDF Awards ceremony in September 2023 at the Roundhouse, London. Further information on the ceremony and registration can be found here.
Wish us luck!
The US Department of Agriculture approved the sale of “cultivated” or lab-grown meat to American consumers late last month, paving the way for what manufactures say is a new avenue for food sourcing and distribution.
Two companies, Upside Foods and GOOD Meat, were both given approval to begin manufacturing and selling their “cultivated chicken” products, also known as “cultured” chicken, which are produced using animal cells grown in a laboratory to create meat without directly slaughtering an animal.
Read full story.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a 3-year corporate plan, which explains how their 5-year strategy will be turned into concrete actions.
In the next 3 years FSA want to:
Read the Executive Summary and the full Corporate Plan.
AOAC International's Food Authenticity Task Force has developed standard method performance requirements (SMPRs®) for targeted and non-targeted food authenticity methods. SMPR set minimum performance criteria that food authenticity testing methods need to fulfil.
AOAC SMPRs® can be downloaded on the AOAC Resources page.
As of July 2023, the following SMPRs®, relevant for food authenticity, are available:
Information on the AOAC food authenticity SMPRs® has been added to the Quality section of this website.