Britain and Ireland were caught in the horse meat scandal of 2013, where products labelled “beef” turned out not to have had bovine origin.
Investigations revealed that the problem extended to other countries in Europe.
The same year, the possibility that calamari (squid) rings were actually from the end point of the digested food expulsion system of members of the porcine family (that is, pig rectum) was discussed.
But there was zero evidence that the substitution was actually happening. The myth is perpetuated by some groups, along with other strange ideas designed to put the reader off animal products forever.
In New Zealand, the Callaghan Institute has reported that six times more mānuka honey is sold globally than is produced in New Zealand.
The likely explanation is that the honey has been diluted, substituted or mislabelled.
Other premium products, such as wine, fruit and olive oil have also been targeted.
A group of New Zealand and Australian olive oil producers, operating as the Avocado Trust, raised concerns with Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard at the beginning of the month, suggesting that a dedicated food crime taskforce, similar to the United Kingdom’s food crime unit, which investigates matters of food fraud, was needed to protect the integrity of products before cases are discovered by consumers or journalists.
Hoggard has pointed out that the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) already includes fraud management and enforcement.
The responsibilities lie with the Food Safety Authority (FSA), which in 2009, four years before the horse meat scandal in the Northern Hemisphere, launched an investigation into meat on sale at the Māngere and Ōtāhuhu markets in Auckland.
The meat had been processed to pet food standards, but fears were raised that it was being sold for human consumption.
Lack of proof resulted in no FSA prosecution.
Adjunct Professor at Lincoln University, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth is a farmer-elected director of DairyNZ and Ravensdown. She is also a member of the Scientific Council of the World Farmers’ Organisation.
More recently, an award-winning pie-maker had to rethink the source of his meat – noting that horse meat consumption is not illegal in New Zealand, but it must be processed to higher standards for humans than is necessary for pets.
In this case, it was Auckland Council that was involved in ensuring safety after a tip-off from the public.
New Zealanders and New Zealand authorities are on the ball.
With some products, including the olive oil, of concern to the Avocado Trust, purity is not obvious.
Every few years, MPI tests domestic and imported foods for agrichemical residues, nutrients and contaminants as part of New Zealand Food Safety’s monitoring and testing programme that informs policy decision-making and food standard setting, providing assurance on the safety of our food supply.
It may be that in future the programme will be expanded.
The Callaghan Institute has already suggested that New Zealand exporters will need authentication to access some premium retailers and export markets.
German regulations require 5% of all retail food products to be tested each year.
Costco in the United States authenticates all olive oil to prevent mislabelling products.
Canada is hot on “maple-washing” – where red maple leaves are used on packaging to imply the contents were produced in Canada.
Olive oil, asparagus and blackberries have been involved.
Awareness is increasing, and techniques for identification are improving.
Detection accuracies now exceed 95% for many applications, with analysis times reduced from days to seconds.
In New Zealand, as in other countries around the world, lovers of calamari rings can indulge their taste buds in the knowledge that policies, processes and techniques are working to protect their safety.
– Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Adjunct Professor at Lincoln University, is a farmer-elected director of DairyNZ and Ravensdown. She is also a member of the Scientific Council of the World Farmers’ Organisation.
Dining and Cooking