This is the first Newsletter of the Virtual Network for Food Authenticity Analysis. Our website (www.foodauthenticity.uk) was launched in July and is being developed into the resource recommended in Chris Elliott’s Review into the Integrity and Assurance of

Food Supply. The project was set up by Defra and is there to provide the tools to check for mislabelling and food fraud, and help to ensure that the UK has a resilient network of laboratories with fit for purpose testing to check for food authenticity. I hope you find something of interest, and please pass it on to

anyone who you think might benefit from receiving it.In this edition of the Newsletter, there is an account of the Management Committee who will oversee the development of the Network and will guide the content of the website. There is also a quick overview of what you can get out of the website so that you can get what you need from it. There are also two articles from our colleagues at FERA and CIEH/TiPSiP about other initiatives with a direct interest in food authenticity.

Mark Woolfe Network Secretary Secretary@foodauthenticity.uk

Newsletter October 2015/ ISSUE1

FoodAuthenticityA Virtual Network for Food Authenticity Analysis

WELCOME TO THE FIRST NETWORK NEWSLETTER

Website membership Despite the short period the website has been on-line, there has been an encouraging response; Over 250 members have already signed up on the website. Registering enables you to participate in discussion forums on issues of interest.A look at the distribution of the membership indicates that food analysts, regulators and the industry make up nearly 80% of the membership. This useful distribution will assist in making interesting discussions about problems occurring in the food supply, and new and existing methodology to tackle food authenticity problems.

Nearly 50 items of news have been added to the website since it started. These are designed to keep members up to date about changes in raw material food supplies, cases of food fraud around the world, new methods, and regulatory changes which affect food authenticity. Summary documents on food authenticity projects, previous food authenticity surveys, SOPs and nitrogen factors have also been added, as well as a Twitter feed. There have been 2,350 sessions on the website since the 1 July, which is very encouraging. We hope to continue this interest by developing the website further with a directory of centres of expertise i.e. what services are offered by different laboratories.

Meet the Management CommitteeAlthough the Network will be overseen by Defra’s Authenticity Steering Group, the purpose of the Management Committee is to provide an independent overview and direction to support the 5 primary aims of the Network:

1. Disseminate technical information on food authenticity.

2. Support the transfer of knowledge (Knowledge Transfer exercises, Standard Operating Procedures, final research reports, scientific publications and other methodological literature).

3. Act as a trusted source of curated information on food authenticity testing.

4. Be an open forum for knowledge exchange, discussion of “fit for purpose” methods and promotion of best measurement practice in food authenticity analysis.

5. Help facilitate the advancement of new scientific approaches and techniques through discussion and co-operation to help demonstrate the UK’s potential as a world leader in food authenticity.

The Committee will help to encourage participation of interested parties in the Network, and will approve the criteria of membership. They will assist in the decisions of what material to place on the website. The Committee will advise on whether improvements need to be made and whether it is fulfilling the objectives it was established for, in particular to help address future food authenticity and fraud problems.

The Committee will meet in October, after which further development of the website will be progressed with their agreement.

Our Management Committee

Network Structure

Barbara Gallani FDF John Bassett IFST Michael Walker Chair

Andy Morling FSA Penny Bramwell FSA Barbara Hirst RSSL

Andrew Opie BRC Michelle McQuillan Defra

What More Can Members Get Out of the WebsiteInvite Colleagues - members can invite colleagues, who you feel would find the site useful. Look for the ‘Invite contacts’ item underneath your ‘My page’ menu tab.Contact Other Members - Like other social sites, you can connect with other members of the site and swap messages.Sign Up For Alerts On Discussions – If you go to the discussion or article list, at the end of the page you can use the ‘Follow’ button to get an email when there are new items.Tell Us What You Think About Articles - It will help us keep articles relevant if you tell us, and other members, that you find particular articles useful or informative. Use the small ‘like’ icon to tell us (and other members) that you found an article useful. Start New Discussions And Reply To Other Discussion Posts - Go to the ‘member discussion’ page and look for the ‘+’ or ‘Add discussion’ button at top right to start a new discussion topic. You can contribute to

an existing discussion by using the ‘Reply’ field at the bottom of each discussion post. If there’s a need, we may start up discussions for particular member groups; if we do, those will appear on your ‘discussions’ tab along with other discussion lists.Simplify your FoodAuthenticity emails – You can get a daily digest instead of multiple individual emails. Also you can control the types of notifications you receive by editing your “Profile” page.http://www.foodauthenticity.uk/

Virtual Authenticity Network

Stakeholders

Project management

Management Committee

NetworkSecretary

Project manager

Laboratories

Clerical and IT support

Centres of Expertise

LGC

About the EU FoodIntegrity ProjectProviding assurance to consumers and other stakeholders about the safety, authenticity and quality of European food (integrity) is of prime importance in adding value to the European Agri-food economy. The integrity of European foods is under constant threat from fraudulently labelled imitations that try to exploit that added value. FoodIntegrity (FI) is a European five-year project, comprising 38 partners from Europe and China that will address these issues.

Verda Fazlic and Paul Brereton (Fera Science Ltd.)

ExpertiseA key aim of the project is to consolidate expertise and existing knowledge. The Food Integrity Network is a free platform for stakeholders and experts to exchange knowledge and expertise in food authenticity, safety and quality; and to rapidly share information and intelligence about suspected and actual incidents to protect consumers and food products from damaging effects of food miss-description. The stakeholder/expert database allows you to search for people with expertise in certain commodities, techniques or regions and initiate a discussion on any relevant topic. A secure forum aims to facilitate sharing intelligence on incidence of food fraud, food adulteration.

InnovationFI is also undertaking research in the following areas:• developing an early warning tool intended to help anticipate food fraud risks• rapid methods for assuring food integrity of spirit drinks• reducing product misdescription in the seafood sector• olive oil authentication (take part in the survey)In addition FI is currently procuring ~€3M of additional research.

EvidenceA dedicated Knowledgebase within FoodIntegrity will bring together available information on suitable analytical tools and associated reference data for the detection of food fraud in a Knowledge Base, to facilitate access to this information for industry, regulatory authorities and research organisations. This open resource will be available in 2016 and will provide a central resource that maps methods onto commodities and authenticity questions - a Web tool with details of major food commodities, potential food fraud issues, and links to existing methods and associated analytical data if available. More information can be found on the Food Integrity web site.

ImpactFI is researching Chinese consumer attitudes to western food products in order to better understand how to market to this developing economy and to appreciate the implications of counterfeiting on those attitudes. This novel research is of interest to western economies who export to China and who are concerned about their brand value being eroded by counterfeiters. • A dedicated workpackage headed by industry is assessing all of the activities of the project and their implications for industry. FI aims to be the international focal point for the science behind anti-fraud. It undertakes extensive communication, dissemination and training activities. For more information visit www.foodintegrity or download our newsletters.

Organisation of FIFor further information on the FI Project or on becoming a member of the Food Integrity Network please visit the Food Integrity web site at: www.foodintegrity.eu/

An Example of Advice - Nut Contamination: Risk and Complexity in the Supply ChainRecent cases of spice contamination with peanut and almond protein in the USA, Canada and UK have reminded food businesses to exercise due care when sourcing spices. Spices merit particular attention as they are used in such a wide variety of foods. Spice supply chains are not all the same, some have stringent controls in place while others do not. Often the difference is closely correlated to whether a spice has been produced for export or domestic markets. UK food businesses may be exposing themselves to significant food safety and integrity risks if purchasing spices from less-controlled supply chains. Characteristics of the world’s second oldest trade mean it is especially vulnerable to economically motivated adulteration and food safety issues. Spice supply chains are long, initial processing may occur in unhygienic conditions, and quality assessment is often based on organoleptic testing (subjective product examination using the human senses).

The risks listed are well understood but not all spice supply chains are equal, some have much more extensive risk management controls in place than others. The extent of the controls is influenced by the intended final customer, with spices for the export market subject to significantly more stringent controls than those intended for the domestic market. The diagram and table provides a simplified overview of a generic spice supply chain and typical food safety and integrity risks and control measures. The diagram highlights that leakage from domestic to export supply chains can circumvent control measures on longer supply chains. Food businesses purchasing spices from less controlled supply chains, intentionally or not, risk their reputation and their customers’ health. Ignorance is an inadequate defense, food business should ask about where and how spices are sourced, and the control measures in place to address food safety and integrity risks commonly associated with spice supply chains.

TiFSiP is an inclusive membership organisation for individuals and organisations who work to keep food safe, healthy and trustworthy. It facilitates collaboration among the food community and keeps members informed about new ways of working and protecting consumers. One of TiFSiP’s primary area of focus is food integrity, alongside food safety and hygiene, nutrition and health, and food sustainability.

TiFSiP works to ensure members have information to underpin the development of the skills and capabilities necessary to deliver safe food by:

• Helping members to understand food safety and integrity requirements, through provision of analysis of issues and case studies.

• Facilitating Continuing Professional Development e.g. through webinars and events (currently UK based), as well as through development of knowledge from the online information provision.

• Providing opportunities for networking, online, through TiFSiP’s private and public communities.

• Encouraging collaborative working, formal or informal, with peers and experts across the food community (for example, updating professional colleagues or developing good practice advice).

Eoghan Daly, food policy and technical advisor, TiFSiP. See more at: http://www.tifsip.org/

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If you’re not already a member of the Food Authenticity Network then please visit http://www.foodauthenticity.uk/ and sign up today.