Tag Archives: food fraud

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Le Bordeaux, C’est Si Beau!

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud, Bordeaux, wine
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

This kind of lead must weigh heavily on the minds of food and beverage fraudsters. The quantity of lead isotopes and elemental lead can be used to determine the geographic origin and vintage of a wine and therefore determine whether the wine is from a specific location. The isotopic profiles of genuine Bordeaux wines were compared to suspicious bottling. The fake wines were clearly identified to be from different locations and vintages than claimed on the labels.

Resources

  1. Taylor, P. (September 16, 2019). “Lab technique spots fake Bordeaux wines”. Securing Industry.
  2. Epova, E. (January 15, 2020). “Potential of lead elemental and isotopic signatures for authenticity and geographical origin of Bordeaux wines”. Food Chemistry.

 

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

A Case Of Fake Wine Classification

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Bordeaux, fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Based on a classification system that was established more than 150 years ago, wines from the world-renowned region of Bordeaux can fetch high prices and enjoy a high degree of recognition and popularity. The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) and Chinese authorities set a precedent by sentencing a wine supplier for offering fake “Bordeaux” wines. Nearly 10,000 bottles of mislabeled “Bordeaux” wines were seized, and the guilty judgment included fines and a suspended prison sentence.

Resource

  1. Taylor, P. (June 30, 2020). “Bordeaux wine body wins key counterfeit lawsuit in China”. Securing Industry.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Don’t Primp My Shrimp

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Shrimp, Food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Authorities in Cambodia found a jelly-like substance injected into 11 tons of shrimp and other seafood imported possibly from Vietnam. Not only were the shrimp unfit for human consumption, import paperwork and permits were missing as well. The seafood was confiscated and destroyed at a landfill.

Resource

  1. Sotheary, P. (June 1, 2020). “11 tonnes of tainted seafood destroyed”. Khmer Times.
    Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Botanicals Yes, Glycerol No

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud, gin, ingredients, botanicals
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

Gin usually consists of re-distillation or addition of a myriad of botanical ingredients to alcohol, but should certainly not contain glycerol and hydrogen peroxide like in this mislabeling case in Australia. This product poses a health risk for consumers, and is under recall for a full refund.

Resource

  1. Apollo Bay Distillery P/L recall (June 8, 2020) “Apollo Bay Distillery SS Casino Dry Gin”. Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Fraud Is the Spice Of Life

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud, cumin
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

The high value of spices makes them one of the most popular targets for intentional adulteration. Researchers in Brazil developed an efficient method for fraud detection: Near-infrared spectrometer (NIR) associated with chemometrics. This method is able to detect adulterants like corn flour and cassava in spice samples, revealing a high rate of adulteration, between 62% for commercial black pepper and 79% for cumin samples.

Resource

  1. Amanda Beatriz Sales de Lima et al. (January 2020). “Fast quantitative detection of black pepper and cumin adulterations by near-infrared spectroscopy and multivariate modeling”. Food Control. Vol. 107.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Milking The Business

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Cow, milk, adulteration
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

Milk has enjoyed increasing popularity in China, however, the milk supply chain is still vulnerable to fraud throughout the country. Milk can be adulterated in variety of ways, from dilution with water to the addition of carbohydrate- or nitrogen-based and protein-rich adulterants as well as a variety of unapproved (sometimes hazardous) additives. This study used Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy to determine fraud in 52 ultra-high-temperature commercial milk samples. Twenty-three percent of the samples turned out to be adulterated and some of the samples were even flagged for multiple issues.

Resource

  1. Yuzheng Y., et.al. (June 1, 2020) “Prevalence of Milk Fraud in the Chinese Market and its Relationship with Fraud Vulnerabilities in the Chain.” MDPI.
Food Safety Consortium

2020 Food Safety Consortium Converted to Virtual Event Series

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Food Safety Consortium

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to take a toll on live events, Innovative Publishing Company, Inc. has made the careful decision to convert the Food Safety Consortium, which historically has taken place in Schaumburg, IL, to a virtual conference. This move takes into consideration Illinois’ COVID-19 plan to reopen its economy, which is a Five-Phase Plan. Phase 5 occurs when groups larger than 50 (conferences and conventions specifically mentioned) will be allowed. The state enters Phase 5 only when a vaccine or an effective treatment is in place. The decision to take the Food Safety Consortium virtual is based on the Illinois reopening plan, along with considering the safety and well being of staff, attendees, speakers and sponsors.

Every Thursday, beginning on September 10 through November 12, the Food Safety Consortium Virtual Conference Series will host two presentations and two sponsored Tech Talks, followed by a panel discussion with attendees. Food Safety Tech is the media sponsor.

“This will be much more than a bunch of webinars. We are excited to offer a virtual platform that facilitates greater human interaction,” says Rick Biros, president of Innovative Publishing and director of the Food Safety Consortium. “Whether it’s a random connection in a hotel lobby, a stroll by a booth at a trade show, or a seat next to a new friend in a learning session, we recognize that human connection is important for events. That’s why we’ve invested in new tools for the FSC Conference Virtual Platform to ensure those discussions, discoveries and connections can go on whether our event is offline or online. The new platform provides attendees with a way to keep track of live sessions, connect with sponsors and engage with peers, all in a familiar way. It will also include an event App that offers interactive features.”

Frank Yiannas, FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response, will remain a keynote speaker, with the new presentation date to be announced.

Call for Abstracts

We are accepting abstracts for participation in the Food Safety Consortium Virtual Series. On the Submit an Abstract page, select Food Safety Consortium 2020 in the drop-down menu.

Categories include:

  • Food safety
  • Food defense
  • Food integrity
  • Food safety supply chain management
  • Lessons learned COVID-19
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Facility design
  • C-suite executive forum

Tech Talk Sponsorship

Companies that are interested in sponsoring a 10-minute technical presentation during the series can also submit their abstract through the portal. For pricing information, contact IPC Sales Director RJ Palermo.

Innovative Publishing has also converted the Cannabis Quality Conference to a virtual event. More information is available at Cannabis Industry Journal.

About Food Safety Tech

Food Safety Tech publishes news, technology, trends, regulations, and expert opinions on food safety, food quality, food business and food sustainability. We also offer educational, career advancement and networking opportunities to the global food industry. This information exchange is facilitated through ePublishing, digital and live events.

About the Food Safety Consortium Conference and Expo (The live event)

Food companies are concerned about protecting their customers, their brands and their own company’s financial bottom line. The term “Food Protection” requires a company-wide culture that incorporates food safety, food integrity and food defense into the company’s Food Protection strategy.

The Food Safety Consortium is an educational and networking event for Food Protection that has food safety, food integrity and food defense as the foundation of the educational content of the program. With a unique focus on science, technology and compliance, the “Consortium” enables attendees to engage in conversations that are critical for advancing careers and organizations alike. Delegates visit with exhibitors to learn about cutting-edge solutions, explore three high-level educational tracks for learning valuable industry trends, and network with industry executives to find solutions to improve quality, efficiency and cost effectiveness in the evolving food industry.

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Separating the Wheat From the Chaff

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud, Argentina, durim wheat
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

Pasta is widely consumed around the world, and prices have increased because people have been stockpiling it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Durum wheat, the basic wheat for pasta, is the second most cultivated wheat around the world after common bread wheat, claiming 15–30% higher prices, and therefore an attractive target for food fraud. Out of 150 Argentinian pasta samples that were analyzed with a new method based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), in combination with Partial-Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), 112 were found to be altered with common wheat. Argentinian labeling law requires durum wheat pasta to be based on 100% durum wheat.

Resource

  1. De Girolamo, A., et.al. (June 2020). “Detection of durum wheat pasta adulteration with common wheat by infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics: A case study”  LWT. Vol. 127. Elsevier.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Now It’s Easier To Bee Happy

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud, honey, sunflower
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Honey is an easy target for food fraud and adulteration with sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, molasses and other sugars are not uncommon. To quickly identify adulterants, a method using Raman spectroscopy and pattern recognition analysis was developed. To verify the method, 97 samples were tested with the new method, and the tests confirmed with HPLC, with the result that 17% of the commercial honey samples showed fraud from added sugars.

Resource

  1. Aykas, D.P., et al. (May 5, 2020). “Authentication of commercial honeys based on Raman fingerprinting and pattern recognition analysis”. Science Direct.

 

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

No Celebration During These Days Of The Dead

By Susanne Kuehne
No Comments
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

One of the worst suspected alcoholic beverage poisoning incidents has claimed dozens of lives in Mexico. A possible cause may be tainted liquor from illegal bootleg sources; the suspicion is pointing to methanol as a contaminant, which can lead to blindness and even death. Due to the coronavirus crisis, some Mexican states banned alcohol production and sales, which may have promoted the sales of illicit alcoholic beverages. An Euromonitor report mentions that about 25% of alcohol beverages in developing markets are illicit and may endanger consumers’ health and lives.

Resource

Taylor, P. (May 14, 2020). “Another illicit alcohol tragedy as dozens killed in Mexico”. Securing Industry.