Technology helps to trace food fraud

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has unveiled the latest technology which will allow inspection authorities to crack down on food fraud within the supply chain.

It was possible to use this technology to determine specific characteristics of foods, said Dr Mark Woolfe, head of the labelling standards and allergy division at the FSA. In meat products, for example, it could pinpoint geographic origin, livestock feed and whether water had been added to bulk up a product.“One of the main problems is the undeclared addition of water or other cheap materials to bulk out the food,” said Woolfe. “In some cases, manufacturers could be committing food fraud without even realising it, depending on the quality and authenticity of their ingredients.”

Woolfe said the technology would help the FSA to identify areas of legislation that needed strengthening and prevent “unfair competition from an unscrupulous trader”. The three main techniques used are DNA, isotope and trace element testing, which the FSA showcased at a Leatherhead Food International conference on safety last week.

The technology focuses on meat and meat products, fish and fish products, fruit juices, fats and oils. But the FSA also claimed analytical techniques were available to target specific problem areas such as organic, genetically modified organism-free, halal and kosher claims.

“The technology will contribute to accurate labelling of the food supply chain,” added Woolfe, “especially at the lower quality and price end of the market where adulteration and mis-description are more likely to occur.”

Woolfe also called on manufacturers to label for particular processing treatments such as freezing and drying when they were used. He noted that the FSA’s scientists were now able to test for an enzyme called hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase, which allowed them to determine whether foods had previously been frozen.

Under amendments to the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 fish, for example, that had been frozen would need to be declared to purchasers where they could be misled by its omission. That was according to the Food Labelling Focus Group of the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services, which oversees the enforcement of regulations.