Intertaste
Food Ingredients
Voedselfraude en product integriteit
06 Oktober 2016
Enny Sloesen
QESH manager FI
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Our features
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1 company: 3 business units
Food Ingredients - Finished Products - Degens
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Annual turnover: EUR 140m
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Employees: 400 FTE
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3 production facilities
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Esteemed and trusted partner of some of the
world’s largest food companies
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European client base
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Our factories
Puttershoek
Nijkerk
Processing of herbs and spices
Production of wet sauces
Utrecht
Production of dry soups,
sauces and meal mixes
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Ground Nutmeg
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Case
 In 2013 Intertaste was confronted with competitors
offering ground micro-safe nutmeg material below cost price.
 Intertaste suspected spice “adulteration”.
 Intertaste initiated a benchmark study in cooperation with
RIKILT on 47 nutmeg retail samples collected from 4 different
countries in Europe.
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RIKILT’s approach
Nutmeg characterisation by chemical profiling of volatile and
non-volatile components using proton transfer reaction mass
spectrometry (PTR-MS) and direct mass spectrometry (DIMS)
Objectives
I. Evaluate differences between different brands
II.Determine the adulteration of nutmeg with nutmeg spent
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Feeding the world for one week.
*Photos: Peter Menzel
An illustration of distance from food source
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Ready-made pizza and the horsemeat scandal (2013)
The NAO (National Audit Office) disclosed details of an analysis of “components” of a typical ready-made
pizza to illustrate its concerns about how hard it is to track food and ensure that it comes from reliable
sources.
A study, carried out by Ireland’s Food Safety Authority, found that a household pizza
“was made from 35 different ingredients that passed through 60 countries, on five different continents”.
It illustrated how hard it was to track food and ensure that it comes from reliable sources
The NAO added that the UK’s current regulatory approach towards food safety
“does not fully address such complexity”.
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Risk Profile Food Fraud
GFSI requirements
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1) Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment
2) Food Fraud Mitigation Plan
SSAFE tool
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Focus on Herbs, Spices & Vegetables!
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Vulnerability of herbs & spices supply chain:
– long supply chain with many chain stages.
– (long) time period between production and consumption.
– Small-scale and primitive production and (post-harvest) processing in countries of
origin.
– Ground, crushed or chopped products.
 Necessity for proper assurance of product Integrity & Authenticity. SSAFE
Assessment resulting in spiderwebs.
Example Results
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Intertaste top risk
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Oregano, Chillies, Paprika, Turmeric, Nutmeg & Garlic (powder)
Parameters matrix:
1. Complexity of adulteration Raw Materials
2. Price level & Price spikes
3. Historical evidence fraud Raw Materials
4. Complexity Supply Chain Map
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Dried Oregano
 In July 2015 Prof Elliott published a study on dried oregano sold at a variety of shops in the UK and
Ireland and online retailers.
 Out of 78 samples of the herb, 19 contained ingredients such as olive or myrtle leaves.
 Some contained between 30% to 70% of other ingredients.
Control measures
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● Contractual agreements: food fraud as part of contracts and product
specifications
● Fraud monitoring system: Sensory evaluation (GC-Headspace/E-nose) and
chemical testing (database of most vulnerable herbs and spices +
adulterants + possible testing methods (internal/external))
● Preventing food fraud at supplier level: GFSI certificate on manufacturer
level
● Embedding food fraud in supply base management: criteria supplier
audit and supplier assessment
Fraud monitoring system RM
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Why this story about pizza?
 Also ingredients used in small amounts in a product can
have a complex supply chain.
 The risks in the supply chain are diverse due to
complexity and not always easy to identify.
 Process and process conditions can differ.
 Risk assessment, risk management and control
measures still need further development.
For these reasons, science is needed to help identify food
fraud vulnerabilities.
The question is how do you catch a thief?..... think like a
criminal…..!