Science at the heart of the fight against food crime

In the wake of a number of UK food scandals, most notably the horse meat controversy, Professor Chris Elliott, director of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast , was commissioned by the UK Secretaries of State for Health and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to identify how the issue of food adulteration could be better tackled, with the aim of restoring consumer confidence and strengthening support and regulation of the UK food industry.

His final report recommends a national food crime prevention framework and identifies eight interconnected pillars on which this and Elliott’s other recommendations are based.

Food safety is of vital public importance and the chemical sciences have a clear role to play in providing that expert analysis. Our chief executive, Dr Robert Parker, believes our community will welcome the majority of the common sense system suggested in Chris Elliott’s report. "The eight pillars approach introduces a comprehensive, practical plan that the government and its scientific supporters can start to work on", he said.

"It emphasises the role of the chemical sciences in keeping the public safe and is a timely reminder that there is still work to be done on issues that came to light in last year’s horsemeat scandal."

The Elliott report underlines the importance of laboratory services in combating food crime and mentions our Analytical Methods Committee, through which we will contribute to a suggested authenticity assurance network.

The Royal Society of Chemistry has a duty, under our Royal Charter, 'to serve the public interest' by acting in an advisory capacity and we work closely with colleagues in the Institute of Food Safety and Technology (IFST) and the Association of Public Analysts (APA) to carry out this advisory role in the area of food safety.

Robert Parker continues: "Our colleagues in the IFST and the APA will be equally pleased to see that the Elliott report gives clear recommendations to strengthen laboratory capacity – reversing a long-term trend of cuts in this area.

"A collaborative approach is vitally important and working with our partners and stakeholders will build a robust and effective system with well-funded, cutting-edge chemical science at its core".

John Poole, chief executive of the IFST added his support for the recommendations in the report. He said: "We are pleased to see this report finally published given its significance and the amount of industry input since the interim review. Food safety and food fraud prevention very much go hand in hand and are underpinned by sound food science."

He continues: "Another of Professor Elliott’s recommendations focuses around the provision of laboratory services and standards of analysis. We fully support his call for a resilient laboratory service, which we see provided through both public and private laboratories. 

"The UK has an opportunity to take a lead in terms of setting the standards of analysis and Elliott recognises that this must be supported by having competent people within our laboratories."

Liz Moran, president of the Association of Public Analysts and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, welcomed the review report and the recommendations for better controls on food security while at the same time underlining the significant contribution that the private sector can make to laboratory capacity in this area:

“The UK has access to state of the art laboratories for food authenticity. I welcome the recommendation for a more coordinated approach to testing and believe that the Food Authenticity Steering Group have a valuable role to play”, she said.

The Royal Society of Chemistry awards the Mastership in Chemical Analysis (MChemA), the statutory qualification for appointment as a Public Analyst and Agriculture Analyst. We work closely with the Association of Public Analysts (APA) and its Training Committee to ensure that candidates have the appropriate skills and knowledge to qualify to help ensure there is a steady supply of competent laboratory expertise.