The bee’s knees: New tests created to find fake honey

20-Aug-2024 - Researchers led by Cranfield University have developed new ways to detect sugar syrup adulteration in honey, paving the way for fast and accurate tests to discover fake products. There is growing consumer demand for honey, with £89.8 million worth of honey imported to the UK in 2023. But as a ...

New method against truffle fraud

13-May-2024 - The high-priced Piedmont truffle can hardly be distinguished from the cheaper spring truffle - fraudsters have an easy game. However, a new analysis method could put a stop to them. Some truffle species are particularly expensive and are therefore often the target of food fraud. For example, ...

New authentication method developed for the identification of β-sitosterol in edible oils

What makes this methodology particularly commendable is its ability to effectively bypass some of the traditionally cumbersome stages of analysis

13-Nov-2023 - In a study published in the journal Food Quality and Safety, researchers from Zhejiang University introduced a pioneering methodology designed to scrutinize the levels of β-sitosterol present in edible oils. With a primary focus on Virgin Camellia Oil (VCO) and Virgin Olive Oil (VOO), this novel ...

New report finds food crime costs the UK economy up to £2 billion a year

Portsmouth researchers worked with the Food Standards Agency to develop a model to estimate the cost of food crime in the UK

17-Oct-2023 - Food crime costs the UK economy up to £2 billion a year, according to a new report, published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). University of Portsmouth researchers worked with the FSA to help estimate the cost of food crime to the UK. ‘The Cost of Food Crime’ report has found the cost of food ...

Gourmet or Imitation?

New technique ferrets out food fraud

07-Aug-2023 - When you shell out for artisanal food –Swiss Gruyère cheese, organic vanilla extract, Italian prosciutto – did you get what you paid for? With global food fraud estimates as high as $40 billion a year, it’s a question Purdue University researchers are tackling with a food “fingerprint” technique ...

Detecting food fraud - thanks to light quanta

Check food for content and origin more cost-effectively

08-Dec-2022 - When shopping in the supermarket, consumers must be able to rely on the food label. But is it always correct? In the joint project QSPEC, AMO GmbH, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH), AG Photonische Quantentechnologien of Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH), TOPTICA Photonics AG, AMOtronics UG and ...

With a whiff ‘e-nose’ can sense fine whisky

Researchers have developed an e-nose that can distinguish different types of whisky

08-Apr-2022 - Scotch or Irish, single malt or blended? While a whiskyenthusiast might be able to distinguish the good stuff from run-of-the-mill by smell alone, most tipplers rely on the label, black or otherwise. Whisky is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages worldwide and, with some high-end brands ...

Solve food fraud efficiently and cost-effectively

12-Oct-2021 - Counterfeit food, in particular false information about geographical origin, causes billions of dollars in economic damage every year. Botanists at the University of Basel have now developed a model that can be used to determine the origin of food efficiently and cost-effectively. Strawberries ...

Revealing meat and fish fraud with a handheld 'MasSpec Pen' in seconds

01-Apr-2021 - Meat and fish fraud are global problems, costing consumers billions of dollars every year. On top of that, mislabeling products can cause problems for people with allergies, religious or cultural restrictions. Current methods to detect this fraud, while accurate, are slower than inspectors would ...

Food Fraud: Fighting more than just the tip of the iceberg

International Conference of the Fresenius Academy discussed new approaches to verifying the authenticity of foods

20-Nov-2019 - "Food fraud" is one of the biggest challenges facing the food industry in the face of global supply chains and increasingly complex processing. An international Akademie Fresenius conference held in Frankfurt on October 24 and 25 discussed new analytical methods that can be used in the laboratory ...