Global Project to Fight Food Fraud
We can't deny the fact that fraud remains rampant globally especially in Africa where corruption and weak regulatory policies persist. Could fingerprints linking crops to where it is cultivated be the solutions? The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on May 22 that it is launching a five-year research project with experts from 16 countries to refine methods to apply nuclear-derived techniques to test for accuracy in food labels. The outcome of the project, carried out in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will assist countries in combating fraud in high value food products, such as premium honey, coffee, and specialty rice varieties. “Numerous foods are sold at premium prices because of specific production methods, or geographical origins,” says project coordinator and IAEA food safety specialist Simon Kelly. “In order to protect consumers from fraud, and potential unintended food safety issues, we need standardi
