Scientists train in food authentication
THE international fight against fraudulent food is gaining recruits at a training course being staged at the University of Otago.
In an International Atomic Energy Agencyfunded project, 22 scientists from developing countries in Asia and the Pacific are taking part in an Otagorun course on food authentication.
Under the tutelage of Otago University’s Prof Russell Frew and Kiri McComb and the National Isotope Centre’s Dr Karyne Rogers, the scientists are learning chemical techniques to authenticate and detect adulteration in various food materials, such as honey and cereal.
Dr Rogers said the project gave the scientists access to facilities they might not have in their home nations, which could help distinguish adulterated food from legitimate food.
‘‘They may not have the facili ties to actually analyse it, they might not have the machines, but they know the process and they can send it to a lab who can analyse it, and they can improve quality control food safety for their countries,’’ Dr Rogers said.
‘‘It’s all about growing their knowledge around food authentication and food safety.’’
Prof Frew said developing nations needed to be familiar with food authentication methods.
‘‘In the countries that are developing, what we need to get are the methods harmonised,’’ he said.
‘‘So, first they can all do the right analytical work properly, and then people can agree on what it means and how to interpret the results.’’
The scientists will stay in New Zealand until the end of the year, before moving on to further training courses in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and China, Prof Frew said.