In the fight against counterfeiting and food fraud, this team knows where your festive dish really comes from

As seafood sales soar around the holidays and in the run-up to Australia Day, consumers may wonder whether they always get what they pay for?

Food fraud is a rapidly growing problem worldwide, according to experts.

“The deliberate sale of counterfeit, mislabeled or substituted food for economic gain is food fraud, and it is a multi-billion dollar global problem,” said Karen Constable, chief consultant at Food Fraud Advisors.

“We have increasingly complex supply chains and ways to buy and sell large bulk commodities.”

“So globally the industry actually thinks food fraud is getting bigger and worse.”

A 2021 report from AgriFutures Australia estimated losses from Australian food fraud at up to $3 billion per year. High-risk sectors include seafood, wine and honey.

According to Australian government figures, food fraud costs an estimated $73 billion per year worldwide.

Moreover, the health risks are enormous. According to NSW Food Authority, there are approximately 4.68 million cases of food poisoning nationally each year.

That has motivated a diverse group – including Sydney Fish Market – to work with nuclear scientists to determine exactly where our food comes from.

In a laboratory south of Sydney, a dedicated team of scientists is making progress in finding a solution to this growing problem of food fraud.

The research is led by Bangladeshi-born Dr Debashish Mazumder, who holds a Masters of Science from Imperial College London and a PhD from the Australian Catholic University.

For the past ten years he has worked on verifying the origins of food at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO).

“The technology we have developed analyzes the ecological ‘fingerprint’ of food,” he said.

“We decode this environmental fingerprint through a machine learning algorithm that can confirm the source or origin of a sample with a high degree of accuracy.”

An ANSTO flowchart showing the steps in food origin identification. Source: Delivered / ANSTO

ANSTO’s powerful tool can help determine the origin of seafood, other animals and plants.

The system uses stable isotopes, X-ray fluorescence scanning and custom computational modeling. Scientists can also use ion beam analysis and neutron activation analysis.

This technology allows Mazumder to place a thin slice of frozen snapper on a tray, and moments later the data appears on a laptop screen.

The figures show a specific combination of trace elements such as copper and calcium. This is then compared with data from a specific location, such as an ocean fishing ground or in an estuarine.

In this way, scientists identify where the fish breed, feed and grow.

Mazumder said the technology can help prevent food fraud. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad

“So far we have analyzed 59 different types of seafood, which is a huge resource for Australia,” Mazumder said.

“And overall, we achieved about 85 percent accuracy.”

A portable X-ray fluorescent scanner, adapted to the mining industry, can also be deployed at remote locations.

The project, funded by the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry through the National Agriculture Traceability Grants Program, aims to help Australian business and industry better tackle food fraud.

This advanced equipment allows scientists to determine whether a fish, such as barramundi, was line-caught in the Northern Territory or farmed in Asia.

Seafood is vulnerable to substitution and mislabeling. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad

“Food fraud is essentially misleading a customer about the source and quality so he can make money,” Mazumder said.

“So this technology ensures that the label is correct.”

Australian seafood is generally considered to be of high quality, safe to eat and with a low risk of contamination – due to strict regulations, effective management regimes and generally clean, uncontaminated marine environments.

“Our fisheries management is considered one of the best in the world, which is why we have a great reputation for high-quality seafood,” said Mazumder.

Australia’s fishing industry, both wild catch and aquaculture, is valued at up to $4 billion annually. Source: MONKEY / Joel Carrett

The Australian fishing industry is valued at up to $4 billion annually and employs more than 17,000 people.

However, the country also imports about 60 percent of all seafood consumed.

And that’s where the risk of fraud multiplies.

“As Australians, when we think about buying premium Australian seafood, we really want to know we’re getting what we paid for,” she said.

“But there remains a risk that cheaper seafood from overseas could be replaced by Australian-grown fish.”

Karen Constable said food fraud is growing worldwide. Source: Delivered / Karen Constable

From July this year, new laws will require Australian hospitality businesses – such as restaurants and cafes – to label seafood as Australian grown, imported or blended. Failure to comply may result in fines.

But the problem goes both ways.

Food sold overseas as Australian grown, which fetches higher prices, may in fact also be mislabelled.

“Food sold offshore, such as cherries, lamb or prawns labeled Australian, may not be,” Constable says.

“And it’s very difficult to prosecute food fraudsters without any technology to support you.”

UNSW Aquaculture Research Group leader Jes Sammut. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad

Jes Sammut leads the aquaculture research group at the University of New South Wales and works with the ANSTO team. He said the industry is supporting technology to better identify the origin of food.

“Seafood, for example, has very long supply chains, from production to retail,” he said.

“And in all of these supply chains, there are several participants who may be involved in fraud or fraudulent activity.

“So it’s critical that we have technology that can verify where something comes from and how it was produced, whether it’s wild-caught or farmed.”

Globally, contaminated food causes 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths every year, the World Health Organization reports.

Mazumder said contamination remains a serious problem in Australia.

“Contamination can be bacterial or viral, or with metals such as mercury, lead or other toxins,” Mazumder said.

“In fact, contaminated food impacts people in Australia every day, and billions of dollars are spent on public safety related to food,” he said.

As part of its new food provenance project, ANSTO is working with offshore scientists to build a massive database of food and harvest locations.

ANSTO science program leader Patricia Gadd is proud to work with international partners. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad

“We’re creating a database of many food products from across Australia, and now Southeast Asian countries are participating,” said Patricia Gadd, ANSTO’s science program leader.

“And this database also contains a robust number of samples and across different types of food products.”

Food products include exports such as mangoes, rice and turmeric.

Australia’s native Kakadu plum, also called the gubinge, contains very high levels of vitamin C and is among the foods vulnerable to substitution.

ANSTO research assistant Elezabeth Bell holds one of the imported Kakadu plum powders that turn out to be fake. Source: SBS / Spencer Austad

“We bought packets of Kakadu plum powder from nine different online suppliers, and all of them were based abroad,” said Mazumder.

“And when we tested them, all the samples were fake and we didn’t find any real Kakadu plum powder.”

Mazumder has devoted more than a decade to this work. He hopes it will ultimately reduce food fraud and help save lives worldwide.

“One day, consumers may be able to use this technology on a mobile phone to scan the barcode [of a product] and see its elemental composition, which is related to a particular environment, and confirm that the product they are purchasing comes from an authentic source,” he said.

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