CB1.2 - Development of databases to underpin referee analysis of foods
Purpose
To develop databases that will ensure that:
- results of referee analysis of food are correctly interpreted, so as to avoid unnecessary challenge;
- allow industry and enforcement analysts to interpret data derived from the analysis of products within the food chain.
Background
The ‘Food Safety Act 1990’ requires that food sold to a purchaser shall be of the nature, substance and quality demanded. As well as this general concept, the compliance of a foodstuff against a host of specific regulations relating to composition may have to be assessed, since the GC statutory function is applied generically by the ‘Food Safety (Sampling and Qualifications) Regulations 1990’.
In addition to the mainstream chemical and bioanalytical techniques, the analysis of a food sample may involve other techniques such as microscopy or isotope ratio measurements. Analysis may also involve the determination of a host of natural and/or process/environmental contaminants.
To assess compliance against a statutory requirement requires the interpretation of experimental data with database information. However, it is often the case that although the analysis is performed using robust, ‘standard’ methods, there is no appropriate validated database against which interpretation can be made. Since any interpretation has to be able to withstand challenge in a Court of Law, database validity is critical.
Outputs
The aim of this project is to develop and disseminate databases that involve the determination of visual, physical and/or chemical parameters and take account of natural and processing variations.