Defining Food Authenticity

The panelists discuss the current definition of food authenticity, and how that definition has evolved as fraud has become more sophisticated and difficult to detect. What was once a relatively straightforward question of whether a product is what it claims to be has grown into a multifaceted challenge encompassing geographic origin, species identification, processing methods, and compositional integrity. As supply chains have lengthened and globalized, the opportunities for adulteration and mislabeling have multiplied, and fraudsters have become increasingly adept at evading conventional testing methods. The panel examine how the scientific and regulatory communities have had to continually refine and broaden their understanding of authenticity to keep pace with these evolving threats, and what a robust, fit-for-purpose definition looks like in the modern era of food production and trade.

Deborah McKenzie, Deputy Assistant Executive Director and Chief Standards Officer at AOAC INTERNATIONAL, USA, moderates this illuminating discussion with leading experts adept at using separation science in food authenticity and food fraud applications; Chris Elliott, Founder of the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, and Professor of Food Security at Thammasat University, Thailand; Michele Suman, Food Safety & Authenticity Research Manager, Barilla Analytical Food Science, Italy, and Adjunct Professor of AgriFood Authenticity, Catholic University Sacred Heart; and Nicholas Birse, Lecturer in Mass Spectrometry, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK and a Researcher at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS), Northern Ireland, UK.