To get the most out of being a Member,
visit our Hints & Tips page

John Points posted a blog post
The application of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of DNA barcodes can be hampered by technical challenges particularly in highly processed food.  Food pre-processing and differences in guanine/cytosine composition can lead to unequal amplification…
Wednesday
John Points posted a blog post
DNA-based verification that gelatin-containing foods and cosmetics do not contain pork products has always been a challenge due to DNA damage and destruction during gelatin production. 
In this study (open access) the authors report that – by…
Feb 25
John Points posted blog posts
Feb 23
John Points posted a blog post
Undeclared lard in confectionary products is a significant concern for consumers in many parts of the world who avoid pork on religious grounds.
This study (GBP30 download fee) used gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC–FID) to…
Feb 20
John Points posted a blog post
Raman, and related techniques, have the potential to provide field-based rapid and non-destructive testing for dairy products and powders.
This review (open access) consolidates advances reported from 2015 to early 2025, covering conventional Raman,…
Feb 19
John Points posted a blog post
Verifying the origin of garlic has risen up the risk rankings in recent years.  Approximately 70% of the world’s garlic originates from China.  Volatility in trade tariffs (and the anticipation of tariffs) and anti-dumping measures mean that there…
Feb 18
John Points posted a blog post
This technical report from the FAO (free to download) provides a detailed overview of food fraud in the aquatic sector, outlining its types, causes and impacts. It demonstrates that species substitution and mislabelling are the most common forms of…
Feb 11
John Points posted a blog post
This study (open access) used machine learning classification models to identify monosaccharide markers for coffee adulteration.  These markers (proposed thresholds for glucose, xylose and mannitol) are suitable for authenticity monitoring vs…
Feb 10
John Points posted a blog post
Near-Infrared (NIR) sensors are routinely used for in-process monitoring in the cheese industry, from raw milk analysis to final product grading. For example, in curd processing, real-time NIR monitoring of moisture and fat content enables dynamic…
Feb 6
John Points posted a blog post
This study ($25 download fee) compiled 254 incidents of food adulteration reported across from 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region between 2019 and 2024, gathered from primary sources published in Arabic (85 %), English…
Feb 5
John Points posted a blog post
Milk adulteration remains an endemic problem in many regions of the world.  Police action, consumer illness and even fatalities are reported regularly from countries such as India and Pakistan.  There is a need for simple, low-tech, cheap, tests…
Feb 4
John Points published articles
Feb 2
John Points posted a blog post
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) have recently produced “authentic” and “inauthentic” honey reference materials.  These materials will shortly be available within laboratory proficiency testing (PT) schemes.  Analysis of…
Feb 2
John Points posted a blog post
It is difficult to distinguish fresh from defrosted lamb using a single analytical test.  In this study (open access) the authors propose a screening approach using Near Infra Red spectroscopy (set up online in a production environment) followed up…
Jan 30
John Points posted a blog post
This paper (purchase required) reports the comprehensive analysis of 437 standardized wine samples produced from six distinct grape varieties over a span of two decades (2002–2023).
The authors report that the grape variety was pivotal in shaping…
Jan 29
John Points posted a blog post
FAN has a searchable index of where to find databases (either analytical signals or compositional parameters) of authentic food.  These are used as reference benchmarks for analytical authenticity tests.
We are in the process of updating this list. …
Jan 27
More…