Food authenticity

Food authenticity is a term which simply refers to whether the food purchased by the consumer matches its description.

Misdescription can occur in many forms, from the undeclared addition of water or other cheaper materials, or the wrong declaration of the amount of a particular ingredient in the product, to making a false statements about the source of ingredients i.e. their geographic, plant or animal origin.

The programme addresses all food authenticity issues, whether linked to a particular product sector such as meat, or more generally to the origin of the food or its ingredients.

The Food Authenticity Research Programme applies novel technology where possible to develop methods that can be used to check that foods are correctly described and labelled. This helps to ensure that consumers are not receiving misleading information about food, and contributes to reducing food fraud.

The Agency also conducts a prioritised programme of Food Authenticity surveys on food in shops to check that it is what is says on the label.

For further information about this research theme, contact science@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk