The enforcement of food authenticity issues in the UK - practical problems in the European context.

摘要

Problems with food authenticity are not new, they have been identified for many hundreds if not thousands of years, from the day trade started and the merchant found he could gain a financial advantage by diluting food with a less valuable adulterant. When non-authentic foods are successfully marketed it is not only the final consumer who suffers but the honest food manufacturer/processor who is commercially undermined by the cheaper products. Some 20 years ago I was a humble laboratory assistant, wrestling with problems of the authenticity of for example basmati rice, meat and flesh products and fruit juices. Surprisingly, these issues are with us today - important but still unresolved. The question is why this should be. Great strides have been made to resolve the difficulties with identification but even for simple materials, not all have been fully elucidated. The reasons are many but include the development of food science and technology, the global market and the wider range of similar commodities that are available today. But above all there are vast profits to be made for those with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to defraud; it is now possible to adulterate food on an unprecedented scale.