Campden BRI has been included in the general proficiency section of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs UK Centres of Excellence in food authenticity testing.
The organisation is active in many areas of food authenticity testing, including meat, fish and seafood speciation, olive oil analysis, and spice adulteration.
Methods used include real time polymerase chain reaction assays, DNA sequencing, immunoassays, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, microscopy, and liquid and gas chromatographic techniques.
“Our analytical testing services are supported by a range of scientific research projects, funded by our members,” said Steve Garrett, food authenticity specialist.
“Included in these is a project looking at development of ‘next generation’ analytical technologies to protect the food industry from fraud.”
“Amongst the outputs from this project have been evaluation of commercial isothermal DNA amplification assays for meat species and fish (red snapper), and a commercial immunoassay dipstick test kit to detect the presence of cow’s milk in products such as ewe and goat’s milk cheese,” he added.
“We have also developed a fast and sensitive real-time PCR nuclear DNA assay for the detection of horse DNA in meat products, and looked at volatile profiling of olive oil for rapid authentication.”
