uncovering scotch whisky...

Ensuring the Integrity of the European food chain

Uncovering Scotch Whisky Authentication

FOOD FRAUD – Global Understanding5th April 2017

Shona Glancy

The Scotch Whisky Research Institute


Overview

• Counterfeit Scotch Whisky – what are the threats?

• Protecting Against Counterfeits in Export Markets: Authentication work at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute (SWRI)

• Current authentication capabilities and methods

• New initiatives and developments in Scotch Whisky authentication: The Food Integrity Project

FOOD FRAUD – Global Understanding, Session 3: Food Fraud Detection and Management, Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City, 5th April 2017


Counterfeit Scotch Whisky – what are the threats?




• Scotch Whisky is a premium global product and is thus a natural target for counterfeiters, particularly in emerging markets

• Lost revenue for legal producers and governments

• Inferior products are extremely damaging to specific brands and the overall category of spirit drinks

• Illicit alcohol production also poses a serious risk to health




Example of counterfeit ‘Scotch Whisky’

• Canned in Austria, sold in Middle East

• Manufactured from “industrial alcohol” and flavouring

• 15 million cans sold over a period of a few years




• Estimation of the cost to the industry is difficult

• The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) estimate 150 million counterfeit bottles, purporting to be Scotch Whisky, have been sold worldwide over a recent two year period

• For these cases alone, this equates to a very broad figure of over £200m p.a. worth of sales



Protecting Against Counterfeits in Export Markets





The Scotch Whisky Research Institute

• Research & Technology Organisation

• Member-led “Research Club” funded by The Scotch Whisky industry

• Comprehensive programme of pre-competitive research

• Providing long-term benefit to our members



• We undertake Scotch Whisky authenticity analysis on behalf of the Scotch Whisky Association’s (SWA) legal department

• Our authenticity methods are accredited to ISO Standard 17025 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service

• Our analytical reports are used to support prosecutions against counterfeiters worldwide




• Products from over 55 different countries

• Approx. 80 suspect whisky products every year sourced by the SWA from markets worldwide

• Compare products according to legislative definitions e.g. The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 and EU Regulation 110/2008 which defines spirit drinks




• On average ~70% of samples analysed at SWRI fail to conform to label claims

• Several major counterfeit operations across the globe have been identified and terminated based on the results of our analyses



Current authentication capabilities and methods




Common modes of adulteration:

• Extension or replacement of authentic product with:• Water

• Cheaper locally produced spirit or neutral alcohol

• Addition of sweetening or flavourings to mask or mimic aromas




• Authentication can take place via a number of routes e.g. packaging and documentation trails

• Only true indicator of product authenticity is the liquid itself

• For this, analytical capabilities and interpretative expertise are required




• Densitometry

• Capillary gas chromatography (GC-FID)

• High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-UV)

• Ion-exchange chromatography

• Capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

• Sensory evaluation

• Stable Isotope Ratios (e.g. SNIF-NMR)

• UV-Vis Spectroscopy

The definition provides the basis for analytical tests employed




Legal Definition of Scotch Whisky

• Produced in Scotland from water and cereals• processed into a mash

• converted to fermentable substrates by endogenous enzymes

• fermented by yeast

• Distilled at less than 94.8% v/v strength

• Matured in Scotland in oak casks smaller than 700L capacity for a minimum of 3 years

• Sold at a 40% minimum strength

• No additives allowed - only water and E150a caramel colouring




• The Scotch Whisky definition is a process based definition

• Interpretation of analytical results requires knowledge of the production process and knowledge of the product

• Sophisticated laboratory methods: high level of sensitivity and skilled analysts required



New initiatives and developments in Scotch Whisky authentication:

The Food Integrity Project




• EU funded collaborative project under FP7 “Assuring Quality and Authenticity in the Food Chain”

• 9 million Euros over 5 year project term

• Three of the Work Packages focussed on commodities: olive oil, spirit drinks and seafood




• SWRI leading Spirit Drinks Work Package focussing on the safety, authenticity and quality of European Spirit Drinks

• The aim is to target the current gaps in the protectionof the spirit drink sector’s brands/categories from inferior and/or harmful counterfeits

• Four partners:




What does the Scotch Whisky industry want?

• Desire for portable, cost effective solutions that can identify suspect products at the point of sale or distribution

• Desire for quicker, authoritative methods in the laboratory that complement in field techniques

• Confidentiality issues: brand profile information cannot be shared with third parties




Research Approach: Three levels of technology solution

• Level 1: Portable (e.g. handheld/backpack)• Quick, relatively low cost, screening

• Level 2: Deployable (e.g. back of car)• More authoritative, e.g. LC/MS & GC/MS, benefitting from

miniaturisation. Often as rapid. Issues – expense and ease of use.

• Level 3: Supplemental Lab Based • Improvements in standard methods (e.g. maturation

compounds) and exploration of new techniques and identification of new markers




• The RIDA®CUBE Scan Analyser is a new photometric analyser that can test for the presence of sugars (Glucose, Fructose and Sucrose)

• Portable and fully automated allowing for rapid analysis by untrained users

• Ability to quickly identify products that have been illegally adulterated with sugars




• The Ocean Optics Spirit Sampler was developed for brand authentication

• This technique is based onUV-Vis spectral information

• Brand UV-Vis spectra are modelled and suspect samples can quickly be screened in the field


The Spirit Sampler: Ocean Optics



• Very good at identifying gross counterfeits, used as a screening tool; provides simple PASS/FAIL response

• Liked by industry, harder to create an “authentic” profile, no analytical data revealed

• Less able to differentiate more sophisticated counterfeits or brand substitution




• PerkinElmer Torion T-9 is a self-contained, ruggedized, field-portable GC/MS

• Simple, robust hardware with easy-to-use software and sample introduction techniques

• Proved concept for identification of six common markers for illicit alcohol at levels of interest




• Many of the analytes detected in spirits using this technology (without optimisation) are routinely employed in laboratory based spirit profiling

• Possible scope to investigate brand authentication


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Sampling with the SPME fibre, housed in a durable syringe that is operated

like a ball point pen.



• Microsaic 4000MiD® is a deployable, no separation ESI-MS

• The unit is a self-contained, with no external vacuum pumps and integrated PC

• Simple interface allowing non-mass spectrometrists to operate and maintain the equipment with minimal effort and training




• Proved successful identification of markers for illicit alcohol and adulterants spiked into whisky

• Brand separation has also been investigated and is showing some potential




• Occasionally sensory analysis identifies samples atypically dominated by certain aromas

• bubble-gum, pineapple, olives, wintergreen, coconut, strawberries and cream

• The compounds responsible for these aromas can be difficult to identify using standard methods

• Collaboration with Anatune allowed for use of novel sample introduction techniques such as dynamic headspace (DHS)




• 15 selected samples were analysed using DHS/GC/QTOF-MS – wider range of analytes, improved sensitivity and mass accuracy


• The DHS/GC/QTOF-MS was carried out with simultaneous olfactometry to help correlate aromas with regions of mass spectral information



• Detected a range of flavour compounds not naturally present in Scotch Whisky

• Also identified a number of compounds used as flavour carriers




• The Food Integrity Project has also been working to develop resources available to help improve expertise in analysis and interpretation for spirit authentication

• The options are being discussed in consultation with the industry include:

• training tools - presentations, collections of relevant papers, guidance documents and workshops

• better communication routes between industry and third party laboratories - exploration of data sharing mechanisms



Conclusions and acknowledgements



Conclusions

• Still many challenges facing spirit drink authentication -no ‘one tool fits all’

• The Food Integrity Project has enabled the exploration of potential authentication solutions to expand analytical capabilities either by:

• assessing applicability of new technologies to spirit drinks

• improving current techniques

• With knowledge of Scotch Whisky composition and production these techniques can be applied to combat counterfeiting


• Ocean Optics

• DD Williamson

• spiritsEUROPE

• Colleagues at the SWRI

• All our working partners, both within and outwith the FoodIntegrity consortium

Acknowledgements


The project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh

Framework Programme for research, technological development and

demonstration under grant agreement No. 613688.

www.foodintegrity.eu

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