AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Strategic Food Analytical Methods:
Proposal for Working Group on Meat Authenticity
Thierry DELATOUR
Nestlé Research Centre, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, CH-1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland
The mis-description and adulteration of food products is a major concern for the food sector as
consumer trust and international food trade are disrupted by frequent disputes on food quality and
safety requirements. In the context of the volatility of the raw material prices that has been observed
in the recent past years, economically-motivated food fraud is considered as a significant risk for
driving inadequate quality of raw materials in the supply chain.
The recent scandal in Europe (2013) about the presence of horse meat in food products that were
supposed to contain beef meat pointed the difficulty for ensuring food authenticity in an
international trade environment. This case demonstrates that, today, the meat sector may not
guarantee the authenticity of the raw materials, even in regions where both traceability and
surveillance systems are deployed.
The main areas susceptible to fraud in the meat sector would be: the modification of the animal
feeding regime, an inappropriate geographical origin, the substitution of meat ingredients by other
tissues, the modification of the processing methods, the addition of non-meat components, and the
substitution of meat ingredients by other animal species. Several methods are available to respond
specifically to the control of these risks with a broad range of technologies proposed (mass
spectrometry, isotope ratio, histology and imaging, infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance …). To
specifically address the issue of animal species substitution DNA detection-based approaches have
been extensively reported and used; however, recent studies have shown the potential of
proteomics for supporting the control of species identity.
Most of these methods have been developed based on local initiatives, and a lack of harmonization
renders the management of disputes challenging across boundaries. Therefore, there is a need to
establish suitable international guidelines and standards for facilitating meat authentication with the
stakeholders of the meat sector, mainly authorities and industry, and ultimately provide consumers
with products at a consistent high quality.
