Food safety detective combats food fraud

To combat food fraud, we need to identify which factors play a role in vulnerability of organisations and the food chain, according to Saskia van Ruth, the newly appointed Professor of Food Authenticity and Integrity at Wageningen University.

Advanced analytical methods are required, Professor van Ruth says, especially for new unconventional fraud practices and special products with labels such as ‘sustainable’, ‘biological’ or ‘animal friendly’.

“No-one likes to be deceived and certainly not when it comes to food,” says Professor Saskia van Ruth in her inaugural address Voedsel met integriteit - Tussen echtheid en eigenheid (‘Food with integrity - Between authenticity and typicality’).

“Products are sourced from all over of the world and the food chain has become a fragile, extensive, widely branched network, vulnerable to fraud.”

While a number of food fraud scandals have come to light in recent years, such as horse meat and melamine, little is actually known about how often food fraud really occurs, how widespread it is and where it occurs.

For a systematic approach to food fraud, Professor van Ruth says knowledge is required on the vulnerability of products, organisations and chains susceptible to food fraud. In collaboration with criminologists from the VU University in Amsterdam, Professor van Ruth is conducting research into this area through RIKILT, Wageningen University’s Institute of Food Safety.

Specific, naturally occurring physical or chemical characteristics define the identity of a product. These can be used to underpin the quality of the product, but also to determine its authenticity. Fraud may concern product composition, but it may also relate to the production practice or provenance of the product produced. In some cases, analysis of simple substances such as the moisture content can provide the answer. But more complex questions require analytical fingerprints, which involves the combination of analytical chemistry and statistics.

Using the example of an average breakfast, Professor van Ruth highlights some of the authenticity questions involved. Research is being carried out into the special characteristics of products and the underlying causes for these characteristics. The researchers are also looking at the relationship with the environment where production takes place. In her example she looks at changes in the composition of dairy products, for example, the addition of protein or melamine-like substances. Research is also being carried out into the characteristics of products from organic production (eggs), types of fruit juices, the origin of cocoa beans (chocolate) and the typical characteristics of a specialty coffee.

“If something seems too good to be true, then it’s probably too good to be true,” said Professor van Ruth. To get a better grip on food fraud we need to develop expertise and technology, and van Ruth hopes to contribute to this with her new special chair in Food Authenticity and Integrity