The debate for mandatory production labelling for the meat and diary sectors is about to become the latest hot topic and with the recent headlines; from a meat company voluntarily recalling products after an unannounced inspection revealed issues with use-by date labelling (FSA), to an operation carried out by the Food Safety Service of the General Directorate of Public Health, Ministry of Health and the police in Spain which uncovered serious food fraud at a meat company which distributed products to restaurants, hotels and schools in Mallorca, this discussion is likely to continue.

UK food producers and packaging/ labelling companies should start to consider and plan now for the possibility that amended labels and new certifications may be required. Working closely with our customer Defra, we are working on developing a validated multi-species proteomics screening tool for meat species verification in processed meat products. Ultimately this will look to deliver a ‘fit for purpose’ optimised and validated proteomic Mass Spectrometry (MS) method for routine qualitative meat species determination to verify compliance with food composition and labelling law.

'Original Thinking...Applied' - How Fera is Aiding Industry

Download the Multi-Species Proteomic Screening Tool for Meat Labelling ebook - a project that is currently developing and validating a multi-species proteomics screening tool for meat species verification in processed meat products.