Published Date: 23 August 2018
Tender Status: active
Tender Opening Date: 23 August 2018
Tender Closing Date: 20 September 2018
Award Date: n/a
Contract Start Date: n/a
Contract End Date: n/a
Contract is suitable for SMEs: Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs: No
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) Contract Type: Services
The purpose of this proposed research is to build on what has been developed so far to extend the use of real-time qPCR for both pork and horsemeat quantification in processed beef matrices e.g. cottage pie. The Authenticity Methods Working Group (AMWG) has highlighted this research need based on intelligence that meat substitution is still likely to be the most common manifestation of food fraud experienced by UK consumers, coupled with the cultural importance of diversifying methods to apply to pork testing. [The research will not further develop research on digital PCR due to cost and lack of dPCR capabilities in Public Analysts laboratories.]
The aim of this research is to support food labelling verification in order to maintain consumer confidence in meat sold in the UK. This will be delivered by optimising and road-testing the analytical methods evaluated in previous Defra project FA0157 to guarantee they are fit for purpose for uptake and routine analysis on raw and processed beef products by all official food control laboratories.The horse-specific qPCR assay has been previously fully validated for its application on raw beef. Further validation work is therefore focussed on its application to processed beef products in this research. The pork-specific qPCR assay is at a much earlier stage of development, and requires validation on its application to both raw beef and processed beef products in this research.
Intra- and inter-laboratory trialling to road test the methods will verify their 'fitness for purpose' to support food law enforcement and provide an assessment of method performance and analytical confidence. Best practice scientific information on the methods will also be produced to support uptake by Public Analysts.
The outputs from this work will help support Defra business plan commitments in relation to honesty in labelling, ensuring consumer confidence in the integrity of the food supply chain, and enhancing food chain resilience. Maintaining authenticity and integrity of British meat supports the Defra strategic objective of ensuring that British food is the brand of choice both at home and abroad.
Contact name: Defra Group Commercial
Address: DEFRA
London
SW1P 3JR
England
Telephone: n/a
Fax: n/a
Email: [email protected]
Price Range: n/a
