The Setup of the National Reference Centre for Authentic Food (NRZ‐Authent) in Germany

Abstract

The present report addresses the challenges in the fight against food fraud, discusses the definition of food fraud as a legal concept, the point in time at which policy makers in Europe became aware of food fraud, i.e., the horsemeat scandal in 2013, and the policy responses of the EU as well as Germany to that scandal. Moreover, the establishment, structure, and objectives of the recently established National Reference Centre for Authentic Food (NRZ‐Authent) in Germany are described. Practical Applications: The suggested structure of the German National Centre for Authentic Food (NRZ‐Authent) can be used as a blueprint when wanting to build up European Union centers for the authenticity and integrity of the agri‐food chain in the member states. Locations of the Max Rubner‐Institut across Germany and focus of food authenticity research at the different locations. The National Reference Centre for Authentic Food (NRZ‐Authent) headquarters are located in the city of Kulmbach.

Authentication of Turkish olive oils by using detailed pigment profile and spectroscopic techniques

“…Owing to the high demand for this product, various types of inauthentic products have been supplied to the market to obtain unfair gain . Recently, Europol has reported that large quantities of fake olive oils prepared with addition of pigments (chlorophyll and β ‐carotene) and soya oil into sunflower oil were detected in Germany . Therefore, it becomes more important to identify detailed pigment profiles of olive oils to reveal this type of adulteration.…”

“…3 Recently, Europol has reported that large quantities of fake olive oils prepared with addition of pigments (chlorophyll and ⊎-carotene) and soya oil into sunflower oil were detected in Germany. 4 Therefore, it becomes more important to identify detailed pigment profiles of olive oils to reveal this type of adulteration. In a recent study, fast spectroscopic techniques were used in the prediction of the concentrations of the major and minor pigments of olive oils.…”

A comprehensive review of food fraud terminologies and food fraud mitigation guides

“…Van Ruth et al (2018) states that "all food fraud is a form of criminal behaviour no matter the definition of crime," asking the question, whether the terms food fraud and food crime are synonymous? According to Kulling et al (2019), the term food crime is a form of deceptive criminal behaviour identical to the term food fraud. Likewise, the United Kingdom (UK) National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) (2019) states that food crime "is serious fraud that impacts the safety or the authenticity of food, drink, or animal feed.…”

Development of Chemometric Models Based on a LC-qToF-MS Approach to Verify the Geographic Origin of Virgin Olive Oil

“…Since food is traded, counterfeiters can come up with ways to manipulate food in such a way that buyers do not find a diminished value. In earlier times they used simple falsifications, such as addition of sand to flour or water to wine or oil [ 2 ]. Nowadays, the possibilities for falsification are much more sophisticated and also the starting points for falsification are more diverse.…”

“…For the first time there was a paradigm shift from the almost exclusively risk-based approach to food safety of Regulation (EU) 882/2004 considering and avoiding a risk of food adulteration. As a consequence, the National Reference Centre for Authentic Food (NRZ-Authent) in Germany was established in 2017 [ 2 , 3 ]. Moreover, the search for reliable and robust methods for the detection of food fraud is an ongoing story and many research groups dedicate a lot of time to this topic [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”