Product Integrity - an overview of seafood

provenance and authenticity challenges

Humber Seafood Summit – 11th October 2017

Mike Mitchell, Fair Seas Limited

“To such perfection of ingenuity has the system of counterfeiting and adulterating various commodities of life arrived in this country, that spurious articles are everywhere to be found in the market, made up so skilfully, as to elude the discrimination of the most experienced judges… The eager and insatiable thirst for gain, is proof against prohibitions and penalties; and the possible sacrifice of a fellow creature’s life, is a secondary consideration among unprincipled dealers.”

Fredrick Accum, 1820

Food Fraud – not a new problem

Food Fraud – an ever-present risk

• NGO focus in North America

and Europe, including

Greenpeace and Oceana

• Widespread reporting of

seafood fraud in the media –

typically species substitution

• Food system vulnerability

exposed by horsemeat crisis

in 2013

• Retailer and brand owner

concern about upstream

supply chain integrity

The Elliott Report July 2014

• Professor Chris Elliott of Queens

University Belfast led the UK

government post-horsemeat

review of the food system

vulnerability to fraud

• The report recognised that

seafood supply chains are

particularly vulnerable to fraud

• Subsequent to publishing the

report, Professor Elliott has

published academic articles on

food fraud and seafood supply

chains

New requirements were introduced into BRC GSFS v.7 • Section 1.1.6 - ‘new risks to authenticity’ has been included

in the horizon scanning requirement • Section 5.4 - this almost all new section includes five new

clauses to ensure that systems are in place to minimise risk of fraudulent or adulterated food raw materials entering the food chain • The type of information used to inform risk assessments

will have to be considered • A documented vulnerability assessment of raw materials

must be made • Risk based testing (or assurance measures) must be in

place to mitigate against identified risk

BRC response to “horsegate”

Food Fraud Risk Management

• Large businesses have skills and resources to combat

food fraud on-board, they also have access to trade

federation memberships where additional resource and

intel’ is made available

• Risk exposure is perhaps greatest in the SME sector

where these are cost prohibitive

• New resources are required to upskill businesses of all

sizes, to help them identify and mitigate against their

upstream risk exposures:

– Advice and information

– Training and education

Seafish Horizon Scanning Process identified the need to:

• Be more active: demonstrating

greater application in engaging

with industry to highlight issues

to those buying fish (buyers and

end customers).

• Support companies to engage

meaningfully with product

integrity initiatives. This includes

leading industry operators, but

also specific support to at-risk

groups (particularly smaller and

mid-sized operators in the UK

and beyond).

http://www.seafish.org/media/pu

blications/FS97_12_16_seafood

_provenance_and_authenticity.

pdf

That advice is now available to all on the Seafish Website

Examples of Seafood Fraud

1. Species substitution

2. Fishery substitution

3. IUU substitution

4. Species adulteration

5. Chain of custody abuse

6. Catch method fraud

7. Undeclared product extension (dilution)

8. Fresh v frozen

9. Official documentation fraud in third countries

10. Quality Enhancement Treatments

11. Durability indication alteration

1. Species Substitution

This is one of 'the oldest tricks in the book', the substitution

of whiting for haddock, coley for cod, dab for plaice or sole

and bigeye tuna for yellowfin tuna are just a few examples.

This trick is particularly used in formats where species

identification through organoleptic means is difficult because

of the removal of the skin or the addition of flavours and/or

colours through smoking or other value addition processes.

2. Fishery Substitution

This has become more of an issue in recent years as the market has moved towards greater significance of fishery provenance and is showing preferences for particular areas of capture as a point of specification or for marketing purposes. An example of this would be the sale of fish from a depleted fishery or with a poor market perception as if it were derived from a more abundant and well managed fishery.

3. IUU Substitution

Where either all or part of the batch is derived from illegal, unrecorded or unregulated fisheries such as fish captured over quota, under-sized or by un-licensed vessels. This is fish is difficult to detect as the illegal fish is morphologically and genetically identical to the legal part of the catch.

4. Species Adulteration

The addition of non-declared, non-specified species to a primary processed raw material product (such as a fish block or a formed scampi core). Whilst the primary species used is as declared, there is an addition of a lower value but similar species to 'make weight'. In some cases, the addition could be of non-fish protein such as binders derived from cereal.

5. Chain of Custody abuse

The substitution or addition of

fish from an uncertified fishery

into a product that carries an

independent third party

certification such as the MSC.

This threatens the integrity of not

just the retailer or brand owner

selling the fish, but of the

sustainability certification

scheme itself.

6. Catch method fraud

Mis-describing the catch method of a fish, such as

describing trawl caught fish as line caught. Difficult to detect,

especially in skinless fillet formats where the visual

indicators of trawl fishing have been removed

7. Undeclared

product extension The covert use of technologies

that enhance the water

retention capabilities of fish

muscle. Soak and injection

processes with ‘magic powders’

can reduce the analytical fish

content of a fillet significantly,

resulting in the sale of water to

the consumer for the price of

fish.

8. Fresh v Frozen

In some cases, unscrupulous traders may even deliberately

try to sell lower value frozen materials for the price

premiums commanded by the fresh (never frozen) trade

and benefit from improved profitability by deceiving the

consumer about the true nature and provenance of the

product.

9. Official documentation fraud in third countries

Imports of fish and seafood from outside the EU are strictly regulated,

with official documentation required for health certification, traceability to

legal fisheries and for the payment of appropriate customs tariffs and

taxes. Disreputable operators may seek to import products that have not

been produced under the stringent conditions required by the EU and

therefore do not possess the appropriate official documentation.

10. Quality Enhancement Treatments It is possible to enhance the perceived quality of seafood products by

using additives. Such treatments are designed to make fish appear

to be of high quality, primarily through enhancing their visual

characteristics – so white fleshed fish can be made to appear even

whiter, and red fleshed fish even redder. These additives may be

illegal for use in food, or if legal, used above maximum limits.

11. Durability indication alteration Durability indications can be altered by unscrupulous traders

to extend product shelf-life. This enables the sale of product

which may be approaching or even exceeding its original

shelf-life as if it were still of prime value. In some cases,

especially with short shelf-life RTE chilled products, that

deterioration may also mean the food is unsafe to consume.

Origin Way

Europarc

Grimsby DN37 9TZ

T: +44 (0)1472 252 300

F: +44 (0)1472 268 792

E: seafish@seafish.co.uk

Please contact Seafish for more details

Thank you