Food to Avoid Scandal Knowing Origin Food

Global food scandals are becoming more frequent. To make food safer, the researchers say they have to know the origin of the food in advance. A laboratory in Hamburg had the machine for this.

One undeniable fact of life is that most people do not know the ingredients in the food on the plate . Eating is produced on an industrial scale .
So is the growing number of food commodities traded in the international market . This means that when a food scandal emerged , can affect consumers around the world , at the same time .
For many German consumers , food scandals continue to emerge in the last few months and years have undermined confidence , especially against a supermarket .
February 2013 , more than 12 European countries horse meat scandal exposed . Up to 5 percent written as a product in a supermarket beef turned out to contain horse meat in large quantities . It is not seen as a major health threat , but the scandal was sparked concerns about the lack of transparency in food labeling .
Then in early November , a number of the cheese products pulled from stores in the north of Germany because of listeria contamination .

The destruction of trust

At the University of Hamburg , Professor Mark Fischer on a mission to restore consumer confidence , at least up to a certain point .
One of the machines used in the laboratory is GCMS Fischer .
" MS stands for mass spectrometry , " Fischer explained . " We use it to measure metabolites . This is a methodology that can be used to check the origin of food . "
His team developed a method for determining the geographical origin of food products .
In an increasingly globalized world , said Fischer , the geographical origin of the raw materials is becoming increasingly important .
Origin of a product is often used for a unique marketing concept - chocolate , for example , called contains cocoa beans from a specific region .
" It's not a health issue , " said Fischer . " It does not matter if the chocolate beans come from Ecuador or Ghana . "
However, there are cases that the origin of the food has health implications .
" Take the example of fish , " said Fischer . " In this case it is certainly important if the fish comes from the Fukushima region , or from the North Sea . "

Fingerprints groceries 

Using mass spectrometry to analyze metabolites a food sauce to be one way to determine the geographical origin .
Analysis gave researchers what they call the metabolic fingerprints . This fingerprint can then be compared with the reference sample . Fingerprints similar means foods tested were from the same region . Tim Fischer can also analyze samples based on DNA and protein content of the food .
School of Food Science at Hamburg had just started a scientific collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration USA ( FDA ) . The FDA is one of the largest organizations in the world's food monitoring .
For the first time , the FDA in cooperation with a German university . It reflects the growing global food supply chain .
Professor Fischer for this cooperation be an efficient way to share the knowledge in areas of expertise vary .