Food fraud technology to revolutionise herb and spice authentication
Newly launched technology is set to enable organisations across the food supply chain to reduce the time required to authenticate herb and spice samples from days to minutes.
The technology – taking the form of a web-based portal – has been developed for the UK’s leading food authentication provider, Belfast-based Bia Analytical, by cloud engineering company Storm Reply.
Despite the high risk of food fraud, previously authenticity testing could take up to two weeks to complete and would be limited to a small sample size due to volume-based cost.
The launch of Bia Analytical’s portal means food testing laboratories – and other organisations across the supply chain – can access and benefit from its leading authenticity models.
The portal combines advanced chemometrics, AI-powered modelling and spectroscopy, using Bia Analytical’s scientific models to identify authenticity instantly. For the user, it displays complex analytics in easy-to-understand dashboards and can be accessed by standard web browsers, meaning professionals across different locations and organisations can view the same information at the same time.
It can also be connected to handheld spectrometers, which Bia Analytical launched as a new portable authentication service in 2024. Government bodies, food manufacturers and retailers are currently using the portable service to rapidly screen herbs and spices, and enhance audit and quality control processes, according to Bia Analytical.
Developers at Storm Reply used Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services to create a bespoke portal for the instant herb and spice analysis. The speed and accessibility of instant digital testing may act as an incentive to test more frequently and at higher volumes, according to developers.
Storm Reply partner Rachel Grunwerg said: “Food analysis is an industry which needs modernisation. Bia Analytical brought us some challenging requirements which couldn’t be met by off-the-shelf solutions, and it’s been hugely rewarding working in partnership with them to digitise the testing process and demonstrate how it can benefit the whole supply chain and consumers.”
Manual authenticity analysis is a time-consuming and complex process, delaying decision making in the supply chain. Rapidly speeding up testing, without impacting quality and accuracy, could help the UK tackle a food fraud crisis costing the industry at least £12bn according to the University of Portsmouth.
Commenting on the new technology, Bia Analytical’s CEO Simon Cole said: “With food supply chains being long and complex, fraud can occur at any point from the farm to the supermarket shelf. Testing more and testing faster are key for achieving food safety and security.
“We knew there was a better way of helping the industry to make faster decisions. By providing anyone access to our scientific models through the cloud we’re significantly increasing testing capacity in the market, as well as freeing up our scientists to develop new models for other commodities.”
Initially Bia Analytical’s platform is being used to test herbs and spices, following a 2021 EU study which found more than half of products in the market contained “some amount of undeclared plant material”. Most affected by fraud was oregano, with 48% of samples bulked out to unapproved levels usually with olive leaves, followed by pepper, cumin, turmeric and saffron.
The modelling technology can be applied to almost any commodity, formulation or specification in the supply chain such as high-risk commodities including meat, fish, soybeans, cocoa and coffee.
Reducing the time of analysis is as important for a commercial lab as it is for a food manufacturer or retailer. Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL) has partnered with Bia Analytical to conduct a critical beta test aimed at advancing the development of the new food authenticity testing technology. Bia Analytical’s Simon Cole stated: “This collaboration underscores the importance of ensuring that our rigorously validated cloud solution, developed alongside our trusted partner, Storm Reply, can be successfully used and integrated by external laboratories.”
Mark Wilson, senior group manager at RSSL added: “Saving time on complex sample analysis has the potential to transform our day-to-day authenticity testing process. That’s why we’re pleased to partner with Bia Analytical on this essential beta test to verify the ability of the novel system to work seamlessly on our laboratory hardware. This partnership highlights the key technical considerations for system integration while reinforcing the solutions’ reliability and subsequent commercial effectiveness for instant food authenticity analysis.”
Bia Analytical’s Simon Cole concluded: “The current small-scale trials with the new authenticator portal show that the technology works and is accurate and secure. We’ll be offering the technology to more food testing labs throughout the coming year which will complement the transformation of quality control processes in the field by high-volume food manufacturers and grocery retailers.”
