Market scan for Australian origin of Australian labelled product
Rising product fraud, non-linear value chains and increasing requirements from customers for authenticity and transparency are driving the demand for increased traceability and authenticated provenance claims by customers.
| Project start date: | 14 December 2021 |
| Project end date: | 27 April 2022 |
| Publication date: | 26 October 2022 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grain-fed Cattle, Grass-fed Cattle, Sheep, Goat, Lamb |
| Relevant regions: | National, International |
Summary
The geochemistry of soils and climatic conditions differ across geographic locations – the collective chemical features of which are termed a ‘chemical fingerprint’. These fingerprints in products tie them to their geographical, production or manufacturer origin, which in turn identify substitution and counterfeit goods. A fingerprint database of Australian beef and lamb has been established, and capability proven to verify authenticity of product globally utilising the Oritain technology. This project is a continuation of P.PSH.1170 MDC which was to build a basic fingerprint database.
Objectives
The overall project objective was to determine the biological origin of random red meat (beef and lamb) samples labelled as of Australian origin.
Key findings
Using Oritain’s existing beef and lamb meat database, 441 random samples were analysed in the markets. The technology was able to determine an Australian origin result from the sampling. This platform continues to develop and is available for brand owners or agents who may wish to call out an Australian beef or lamb origin.
Benefits to industry
Intervention strategies may be put into place once non-compliant activities have been identified with a scientific basis. This enables consumer confidence and trust towards ‘Product of Australia’ and that the brand/customer investment of individual Australian processors/brand owners can be protected.
The financial market value, jeopardised by substitution, can also be considered in the context of technology interventions such as ‘fingerprints’. Understanding the likelihood and scope of counterfeit and substitution in export markets is essential for protecting the ‘Product of Australia’ brand with some experts indicating that in the future, chemical fingerprints could become important merchandising parameters.
MLA action
With the assistance of MLA, the technology has been evaluated to work against a sampling of Australian Beef and Sheepmeat products. Creating awareness of technologies and business models such as Oritain represents examples of the MLA Market Access Science sub program and other industry engagements such as MLA’s participation in CSIRO Trusted AgriFoods Export Mission.
Future research
Oritain offers risk mitigation solutions at country and producer (brand owner) level. Further investigation would yield a clearer understanding of the extent, trends, and features of non-compliant activity. This ‘customised step’ would need to be with individual businesses to further refine their fingerprint database and respective supply chain partners.
For more information.
More information
| Project manager: | Ian Jenson |
| Contact email: | reports@mla.com.au |
