Analytical Techniques
There is two types of analytical methods: screening tests and confirmatory tests. Screening tests will give a strong indication that there is some form of contaminant present, whilst confirmatory tests gives indisputable proof that there is some from of contaminant present. Analytical methods may be qualitative or quantitative.
There is a wide range of laboratory methods used in the food industry, including:
| Mass Spectrometry | High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) |
| Gas Chromatography | Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) |
| Cell Culture | Bioimaging |
| Biosensors | Microfluidics |
| Western Blotting | Microarrays |
| Bioassays |
The act of food fraud is done to go unnoticed. This can make testing for aduulteration and other types of fraud difficult. Thus, food fingerprints are commonly used by the food industry to allow more effective product discrimination.
The Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University, Belfast carry out analytical techniques to help detect fraud in the supply chain and to improve the quality and safety of food to promote the highest standards of food integrity. Check out the work carried out by IGFS in this video:
This is an additional video, hosted on YouTube.
Revolutionising the Food Chain with Technology
Revolutionising the Food Chain with Technology
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