Research project NP/DD/22 (Research action NP)
These products are alleged to have beneficial characteristics that exceed minimum regulatory norms.
Examples include
- the absence of certain ingredients or their occurrence in well-defined proportions;
- compliance with a process of production, transformation and preservation;
- guarantee of a geographic or genetic origin.
The present pilot project proposes developing analytical systems to regulate the authentication of meat that is alleged to have beneficial characteristics and is produced in accordance with the rules of sustainable development, and more particularly for meats that have a particular origin or have been organically produced.
The concepts of certification and of organic agriculture, because they imply concern for the environment and for animal welfare, open new development prospects and may become an important asset for rural populations; additional guarantees are required, however, if these concepts are to enjoy the lasting public confidence.
We have selected the meat sector and focused on the chicken production chain because of its economic importance the increasing occurrence of products with special characteristics, the large number of legally certified brands and of numerous fakes, a pronounced specificity, and the fact that these products fetch considerably higher prices. Additional reasons are reduced environmental impact and a growing demand from customers for food safety.
The selection also reflects a need frequently expressed by the certification organisms and other members of the chain production.
Issues to investigate and supporting analytical techniques to develop are:
With regard to meat and meat products
- the authentication of chicken meat and its by-products in terms of conformity, species, breed and strain using molecular biology techniques (PCR)
- the identification using a fast method (near infra red spectroscopy) of unprocessed chicken meats whether certified or not (entire carcasses or cut pieces)
With regard to feeds
- the conformity of mixed poultry feeds to specifications (kind and proportion of the various ingredients, absence of others e.g. animal meals) using near infrared spectroscopy in association with other analytical techniques such as chromatography (GC, HPLQ and electrophoresis
- the absence of antibiotics using microbiological screening techniques, confirmed if necessary by FIPLC
- the development of the above-mentioned method should enable the relevant official bodies to enact complementary norms for meat produced according to less intensive production techniques (certification, organic agriculture).
Développement de systèmes analytiques pour le contrôle de l'authenticité de viandes certifiées: rapport final
Bruxelles: SSTC, 2001 (SP0810)
[To download]
Développement de systèmes analytiques pour le contrôle de l'authenticité de viandes certifiées: annexes au rapport final
Bruxelles: SSTC, 2001 (SP0811)
[To download]
Développement de systèmes analytiques pour le contrôle de l'authenticité de viandes certifiées: résumé opérationnel
Bruxelles: SSTC, 2001 (SP0812)
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Développement de systèmes analytiques pour le contrôle de l'authenticité de viandes certifiées: executive summary
Brussels: OSTC, 2001 (SP0813)
[To download]
