Food Fraud is deliberate or intentional tampering with food products by means of adulteration, substitution or misrepresentation of the food products for economic gain. It is a growing issue and is becoming of increasing concern, as it has the potential for detrimental economic, brand and food-safety consequences for the food industry. Here you will find articles related to Food Fraud, authenticity, and innovations that assist in preventing Food Fraud.
Honey fraud can take on many forms (click here for an overview on the types of honey fraud). This makes testing the authenticity of honey very complex, as there is no single test that can check for all types of honey fraud. Honey authenticity testing is like a jigsaw puzzle: the more pieces you c...
In South Africa, honey is regulated through the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), under the Agricultural Product Standards Act (Act No. 119 of 1990), specifically the Regulations Relating to the Grading, Packing and Marking of Honey and Mixtures of Bee Products i...
Honey can vary extensively in taste, aroma, colour and consistency. These properties are influenced by several factors related to the origin of the honey, including (but not limited to): The flora species that the bee visited to collect pollen (i.e. the botanical source) The geographical are...
In the Media: [one-half-first]Our team member Shannon Riva was interviewed on Cape Talk Consumer Talk with Wendy Knowler and Pippa Hudson. [/one-half-first] [one-half]Shannon also gave a presentation at the 2021 SABIO Honey Fraud Virtual Symposium for World Bee Day. [/one-half] Read Shanno...
Our team would like to bring to your attention that a report was logged on the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) by Germany in late April (notification 2022:2286) indicating that some soy lecithin supplied from India may be contaminated with peanut, since then there have been sources whic...
Honey fraud can take on many forms but is typically classed as either adulteration or misrepresentation. Test methods for detecting adulteration are well established and have been officiated by the AOAC; however, the same is not true for testing honey misrepresentation. Becaus...
The purpose of authenticity testing is to ensure the true state of food. However, the volatile and complex nature of food fraud, combined with testing limitations, emphasises the challenge of detecting and subsequently managing food fraud. To effectively employ authenticity testing, a variet...
Subway, one of the world’s largest sandwich chains, has been questioned about the authenticity of their tuna. Seafood fraud – particularly the mislabelling and substitution of fish species – is a global concern. There have been many learnings, as the story has unfolded. Recent news reports ...
The world’s most expensive spice recently made headlines again: a crime network was caught red-handed trafficking fake saffron in Spain, generating millions in profits. This news demonstrates once more the dire need for the food industry to address their vulnerabilities, in order to prevent the oc...