Food Authenticity
Food fraud has been around for centuries with examples such as the adulteration of imported tea with iron filings in the 19th century. Today it is more likely to be the substitution of durum with common wheat or substitution of alternative fish species. It is becoming more and more sophisticated and increasingly difficult to detect. Therefore it is necessary to develop advanced analytical techniques such as isotopic analysis, molecular biology and a range of classic physical, chemical and biological methods to detect the non-compliant products.
A considerable investment in research and development enables Eurofins to apply the most suitable methods to each specific case when evaluating the authenticity and traceability of a product.
Our expertise:
The specialist services available at our Wolverhampton facility, includes the use of ELISA and PCR techniques including:
- meat and fish speciation
- detection of adulteration of durum wheat pasta with common wheat
- adulteration of meat products with soya
Contact our sales team on 0845 604 6740 or email sales@eurofins.co.uk
Additional parameters
Additional parameters for food authenticity available through our European labs include:
- fruit juice and derived products, honey, maple syrup: detection of addition of sugar, water, colourings, aromas or other undeclared additives and determination of fruit content
- wines or ciders: detection of chaptalisation, sugaring, dilution or addition of glycerol, checking the process used in sparkling products, conformity to the isotopic profile
- spirits or beers: control of the botanical origin of the alcohol, detection of addition of water, sugars or flavours according to current regulations and/or product specifications
- flavours: checking whether a flavour is natural such as vanilla, aniseed, bitter almond, cinnamon, linalool
- caffeine: checking for natural or synthetic sources in tea, coffee or guarana-containing drinks
- dairy products: confirmation of the main feed used, such as grass or maize silage, detection of the addition of lipids, lactose or casein and check flavourings such as fruit, vanilla
- cereals: confirmation of the variety
- basmati or jasmine rice: quantification of the basmati and/or Thai Jasmine rice present in a batch