Approach: Identifying Possible Manipulations at all Stages of the Meat Supply Chain
The meat supply chain is characterised by many stakeholders and a wide variety of products. It also exhibits several vulnerabilities to various kinds of manipulations. Past food scandals have highlighted the complexity of fighting food fraud in a supply chain that is highly dynamic and moves across many borders. The aim of the pilot is to provide an analysis of various levels of vulnerability in the meat chain and to identify gaps in the food fraud vulnerability assessment.
A key vulnerability in the prevention of food fraud is related to the development of analytical methods. This pilot provided an overview of existing methods covering all possible manipulations at every stage of the supply chain. It developed and tested a methodological framework to detect and prevent meat mislabelling.
Furthermore, analytical tools such as mass spectrometry, NIR, DNA biochip, DNA barcoding and DNA metabarcoding were developed and adapted to detect fraudulent practices. The pilot tests included the substitution of beef with beef organs, the substitution of beef with other animal species, the mislabelling of grain-fed as grass-fed beef, and the addition of hydrolysate to poultry. Methods for highly sensitive, targeted High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) - Applications of Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MSMS) and non-targeted mass spectrometric fingerprinting by MALDI Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (ToF MS) were developed using defined test materials. The advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches were evaluated as well as the suitability for different stakeholders and products along the meat chain. Most of the high-end methods are aimed at the food safety authorities as the main end-user for an expansion of their analytical portfolio, which will strengthen their ability to combat food fraud in the meat sector.
Additional information
This Practice Abstract showcases the approach that was taken in the meat pilot in the Watson project. For more information about the main results and conclusions from the meat pilot, please consult the Practice Abstract:
- Detecting Meat Fraud to Support Transparency and Trust in Germany
WATSON
Completed | 2023-2026
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Other, Portugal, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, Belgium, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria