Forensic Enforcement: The Role of the Public Analyst - Softcover

Taylor, Glenn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847558712 ISBN 13: 9781847558718

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2010

Synopsis

Over the last 150 years, the Public Analyst profession has hidden its light under a bushel, with the notable exception of Fredrick Accum, one of the first Public Analysts who published the names and addresses of food adulterers, this group of chemists has quietly protected the public from food fraud and adulteration. Using their forensic skills to find traces of poison and other deleterious materials in our food and guiding the Courts and legal profession through complex scientific evidence, it has undersold itself to the public. It is time to tell their story with this collection of memoirs from many practising and retired Public Analysts. Their accounts of samples submitted to them, how they analysed them, and the tales that unfolded, make for a fascinating insight into the field. This is a timely publication, as funding for this area continues to fall, to the concern of many not just in the UK but throughout Europe. Yet, whilst food adulteration may not be as rife as it was 150 years ago, food fraud and adulteration is now on a global scale with improved communications, the fear of adulteration is probably larger than ever. This funding position does not sit well alongside levels of public interest that have never been higher in food, science in general, and forensic science. And yet research is still needed to find future strategies to maintain a vital service to protect the public and it is important to raise the profile of the role of the Public Analyst, now more than ever, This book, which is not intended as a text book but as a light read, will achieve this aim while simply telling the stories of a collection of Public Analysts, things they have found in food and other materials and their memoirs and anecdotes. It will appeal to those who watch programmes such as Crime Scene Investigates and anyone with an interest in forensic science and science in general.

About this title

About the Author

Glenn Taylor, MRSC, MBA, CSci, CChem, MRSH, has over 30 years experience as a regulator in the food industry.

From the Back Cover

Over the last 150 years, the Public Analyst profession has hidden its light under a bushel, with the notable exception of Fredrick Accum, one of the first Public Analysts who published the names and addresses of food adulterers, this group of chemists has quietly protected the public from food fraud and adulteration. Using their forensic skills to find traces of poison and other deleterious materials in our food and guiding the Courts and legal profession through complex scientific evidence, it has undersold itself to the public. It is time to tell their story with this collection of memoirs from many practising and retired Public Analysts. Their accounts of samples submitted to them, how they analysed them, and the tales that unfolded, make for a fascinating insight into the field. This is a timely publication, as funding for this area continues to fall, to the concern of many not just in the UK but throughout Europe. Yet, whilst food adulteration may not be as rife as it was 150 years ago, food fraud and adulteration is now on a global scale with improved communications, the fear of adulteration is probably larger than ever. This funding position does not sit well alongside levels of public interest that have never been higher in food, science in general, and forensic science. And yet research is still needed to find future strategies to maintain a vital service to protect the public and it is important to raise the profile of the role of the Public Analyst, now more than ever, This book, which is not intended as a text book but as a light read, will achieve this aim while simply telling the stories of a collection of Public Analysts, things they have found in food and other materials and their memoirs and anecdotes. It will appeal to those who watch programmes such as Crime Scene Investigation and anyone with an interest in forensic science and science in general.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Forensic Enforcement

The Role of the Public Analyst

By Glenn Taylor

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Copyright © 2010 Glenn Taylor
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-84755-871-8

Contents

Chapter One Adulteration and the Challenge for Enforcement Scientists, 
Chapter Two Nature or Nurture; are Scientists Born or Manufactured?, 
Chapter Three Memoirs Clouded by the Mists of Time, 
Chapter Four Some You Win and Some You Lose, 
Chapter Five The Next Steps, 
Chapter Six The Final Chapter?, 

CHAPTER 1

Adulteration and the Challenge for Enforcement Scientists

In the UK we have beaten food adulteration. There is an army of enforcement officers: Trading Standards, Environmental Health and Public Analysts who, amongst other things, fight the fight against food adulteration. In 2007, in an attempt to improve efficiency amongst these local authority staff, the government commissioned a review of the 60 policy areas worked on by enforcement officers including food hygiene and adulteration (composition), led by Peter Rogers, chief executive of Westminster City Council. It concluded that adulteration of food (measured by checking its composition) was not in the top five 'priority areas' in terms of risk and effective use of the resource provided by enforcement officers. Consequently, some local authorities now argue that food composition is no longer a priority, leading to it receiving scant attention. Food adulteration has been beaten, or at least you would be forgiven for thinking so.

The problem is that adulteration is difficult to define and means different things to different people. Adulteration was defined by Dr Henry Letheby, 1816–76, as 'the act of debasing a pure or genuine commodity for pecuniary profit, by adding to it an inferior or spurious article, or by taking from it one or more of its constituents'. To some, (Caroline Walker, the distinguished nutritionalist, writer and campaigner and others), this includes additives such as emulsifiers, synthetic flavourings and colours, which are added to make a food more desirable. Dr Henry Letheby's definition would seem, at least at first glance, to support her opinion. However, additives such as antioxidants (added to foods that contain fats to stop them going rancid), colours, emulsifiers, stabilisers, gelling agents and thickeners, flavourings, preservatives and sweeteners are permitted in foods and controlled by food law; in the eyes of the law, they are not adulterants. If they were classed as adulterants then synthetic foods, such as an instant strawberry dessert that has never been near a strawberry (or any other fruit) or in fact anything containing additives, i.e. ready meals, sweets, snacks and numerous other products would be considered adulterated, leaving the public with much less choice and eating only the most 'natural' ingredients (those grown or raised).

The Public Analyst's role is to help the courts decide what is adulterated and what is not; and, yes, the meaning of those words does change as research provides more evidence. For example, Azo-dyes (in some food colours) once permitted are now considered harmful and have more recently been banned. Also Sudan dyes; colourants used in oil solvents and polishes, which were the subject of an emergency order in the EU in July 2003, were found in chilli powder imported from India in 2005 and subsequently added to many foods including pizzas, sauces and ready meals. Sudan dyes are now considered carcinogenic (an agent that promotes cancer), at least if present in sufficient quantities. Another example is the 'Southampton Six':

Edition details

• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1847558712
• ISBN 13: 9781847558718
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 103