product integrity - an overview of seafood …...product integrity - an overview of seafood...
TRANSCRIPT
Product Integrity - an overview of seafood
provenance and authenticity challenges
Humber Seafood Summit – 11th October 2017
Mike Mitchell, Fair Seas Limited
“To such perfection of ingenuity has the system of counterfeiting and adulterating various commodities of life arrived in this country, that spurious articles are everywhere to be found in the market, made up so skilfully, as to elude the discrimination of the most experienced judges… The eager and insatiable thirst for gain, is proof against prohibitions and penalties; and the possible sacrifice of a fellow creature’s life, is a secondary consideration among unprincipled dealers.”
Fredrick Accum, 1820
Food Fraud – not a new problem
Food Fraud – an ever-present risk
• NGO focus in North America
and Europe, including
Greenpeace and Oceana
• Widespread reporting of
seafood fraud in the media –
typically species substitution
• Food system vulnerability
exposed by horsemeat crisis
in 2013
• Retailer and brand owner
concern about upstream
supply chain integrity
The Elliott Report July 2014
• Professor Chris Elliott of Queens
University Belfast led the UK
government post-horsemeat
review of the food system
vulnerability to fraud
• The report recognised that
seafood supply chains are
particularly vulnerable to fraud
• Subsequent to publishing the
report, Professor Elliott has
published academic articles on
food fraud and seafood supply
chains
New requirements were introduced into BRC GSFS v.7 • Section 1.1.6 - ‘new risks to authenticity’ has been included
in the horizon scanning requirement • Section 5.4 - this almost all new section includes five new
clauses to ensure that systems are in place to minimise risk of fraudulent or adulterated food raw materials entering the food chain • The type of information used to inform risk assessments
will have to be considered • A documented vulnerability assessment of raw materials
must be made • Risk based testing (or assurance measures) must be in
place to mitigate against identified risk
BRC response to “horsegate”
Food Fraud Risk Management
• Large businesses have skills and resources to combat
food fraud on-board, they also have access to trade
federation memberships where additional resource and
intel’ is made available
• Risk exposure is perhaps greatest in the SME sector
where these are cost prohibitive
• New resources are required to upskill businesses of all
sizes, to help them identify and mitigate against their
upstream risk exposures:
– Advice and information
– Training and education
Seafish Horizon Scanning Process identified the need to:
• Be more active: demonstrating
greater application in engaging
with industry to highlight issues
to those buying fish (buyers and
end customers).
• Support companies to engage
meaningfully with product
integrity initiatives. This includes
leading industry operators, but
also specific support to at-risk
groups (particularly smaller and
mid-sized operators in the UK
and beyond).
http://www.seafish.org/media/pu
blications/FS97_12_16_seafood
_provenance_and_authenticity.
That advice is now available to all on the Seafish Website
Examples of Seafood Fraud
1. Species substitution
2. Fishery substitution
3. IUU substitution
4. Species adulteration
5. Chain of custody abuse
6. Catch method fraud
7. Undeclared product extension (dilution)
8. Fresh v frozen
9. Official documentation fraud in third countries
10. Quality Enhancement Treatments
11. Durability indication alteration
1. Species Substitution
This is one of 'the oldest tricks in the book', the substitution
of whiting for haddock, coley for cod, dab for plaice or sole
and bigeye tuna for yellowfin tuna are just a few examples.
This trick is particularly used in formats where species
identification through organoleptic means is difficult because
of the removal of the skin or the addition of flavours and/or
colours through smoking or other value addition processes.
2. Fishery Substitution
This has become more of an issue in recent years as the market has moved towards greater significance of fishery provenance and is showing preferences for particular areas of capture as a point of specification or for marketing purposes. An example of this would be the sale of fish from a depleted fishery or with a poor market perception as if it were derived from a more abundant and well managed fishery.
3. IUU Substitution
Where either all or part of the batch is derived from illegal, unrecorded or unregulated fisheries such as fish captured over quota, under-sized or by un-licensed vessels. This is fish is difficult to detect as the illegal fish is morphologically and genetically identical to the legal part of the catch.
4. Species Adulteration
The addition of non-declared, non-specified species to a primary processed raw material product (such as a fish block or a formed scampi core). Whilst the primary species used is as declared, there is an addition of a lower value but similar species to 'make weight'. In some cases, the addition could be of non-fish protein such as binders derived from cereal.
5. Chain of Custody abuse
The substitution or addition of
fish from an uncertified fishery
into a product that carries an
independent third party
certification such as the MSC.
This threatens the integrity of not
just the retailer or brand owner
selling the fish, but of the
sustainability certification
scheme itself.
6. Catch method fraud
Mis-describing the catch method of a fish, such as
describing trawl caught fish as line caught. Difficult to detect,
especially in skinless fillet formats where the visual
indicators of trawl fishing have been removed
7. Undeclared
product extension The covert use of technologies
that enhance the water
retention capabilities of fish
muscle. Soak and injection
processes with ‘magic powders’
can reduce the analytical fish
content of a fillet significantly,
resulting in the sale of water to
the consumer for the price of
fish.
8. Fresh v Frozen
In some cases, unscrupulous traders may even deliberately
try to sell lower value frozen materials for the price
premiums commanded by the fresh (never frozen) trade
and benefit from improved profitability by deceiving the
consumer about the true nature and provenance of the
product.
9. Official documentation fraud in third countries
Imports of fish and seafood from outside the EU are strictly regulated,
with official documentation required for health certification, traceability to
legal fisheries and for the payment of appropriate customs tariffs and
taxes. Disreputable operators may seek to import products that have not
been produced under the stringent conditions required by the EU and
therefore do not possess the appropriate official documentation.
10. Quality Enhancement Treatments It is possible to enhance the perceived quality of seafood products by
using additives. Such treatments are designed to make fish appear
to be of high quality, primarily through enhancing their visual
characteristics – so white fleshed fish can be made to appear even
whiter, and red fleshed fish even redder. These additives may be
illegal for use in food, or if legal, used above maximum limits.
11. Durability indication alteration Durability indications can be altered by unscrupulous traders
to extend product shelf-life. This enables the sale of product
which may be approaching or even exceeding its original
shelf-life as if it were still of prime value. In some cases,
especially with short shelf-life RTE chilled products, that
deterioration may also mean the food is unsafe to consume.
Origin Way
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Please contact Seafish for more details
Thank you