It comes after DEFRA established a Virtual Food Authenticity Network project last summer, in line with the Elliott recommendations following the horsemeat scandal of 2013.
Steering group
The network is overseen by DEFRA’s Authenticity Steering Group, which comprises industry members including RSSL consultant Barbara Hirst.
During the horsemeat crisis, RSSL advised and assisted the food industry with rapid testing of meat supplies, using DNA techniques to establish the authenticity, or otherwise, of beef and other meat samples.
Areas of expertise
RSSL’s other areas of expertise in authenticity include: species identification of meat, dairy and fish; expertise in oils and fats authenticity; expertise in botanical identification by microscopy, and in specific areas such as coffee, genetically-modified organisms, free-from authenticity and marker compound identification for other food materials.
RSSL has also invested in a new ‘innovation kitchen’, which is aimed at helping customers turn concepts into new products or assist them reformulate products that offer health and wellbeing, cost reduction or process efficiency benefits.