You are here

Novel Multi-Sector Approaches to Provenance and Food Tracking for use in Distributed Ledger Protocols

Novel Multi-Sector Approaches to Provenance and Food Tracking for use in Distributed Ledger Protocols

  • Food & Drink Improvements
  • 2022-2027
Sustainable Development icon: good health and wellbeing
Sustainable Development icon: industry, innovation and infrastructure
Sustainable Development icon: responsible consumption and production

Challenges

Epigenetics is concerned with information in the genome in addition to that contained in the DNA base sequence. It comprises several mechanisms that involve chemical modification to the genome with functional consequences. It is emerging as a key mechanism through which the environment can directly influence the genome in ways that may be short term or may persist over decades, or even more than one lifetime, with significant consequences for biological function and health. Epigenetic regulation is important in species that contribute to the human food chain. An increasing number of reports cover the epigenetic changes following exposure to stress, toxicants and infectious disease, procedures such as artificial reproduction and cloning, both in the animals directly exposed and the offspring produced. These phenomena have been studied in sheep, cattle, and pigs and aquatic species, such as salmon and sea fish.

Such studies point to the epigenome as a record of a wide range of environmental exposures, physiological states, and reproductive and dietary histories relevant to multiple species that can be used to track provenance and many other aspects of the food chain. The task is to identify the genomic locations where the signals of interest reside, the conditions under which they can be used, and to use this information to develop reliable, precise, accurate, rapid, and low-cost, tests.

Stable-isotope ratios and elemental composition have also been used extensively to establish provenance in a wide range of foods including, shellfish, salmon, meat, sea fish, and milk and in regulatory systems designed to identify foods with Protected Designation of Origin. We have developed stable isotope natural abundance analytical techniques to trace food origin, provenance, and the flows of nutrients through the whole food system - from primary production and processed food to individual consumption - to explore the potential value of a Food Systems approach. The next required step relates to the sub-fractionation of organics (primarily the various saturated, mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids), their analysis for both H2 and C13 isotopes, and the interpretation based on knowledge of metabolic transformations.

Questions

  • What new methodologies and data can help identify and track the origin of Scottish food products?

Solutions

This project aims to produce generic technologies, based on DNA and chemical analysis, to protect the safety, integrity, and quality of key food chains in Scotland. Significant changes to international trade following the UK’s exit from the EU magnify the scale of the challenge in this area and make the development of reliable technologies more urgent.

 

Stakeholder priorities 

We continue to engage with stakeholders to explain the potential of these technologies to them and to identify priority questions in each sector that can be used as exemplars.

 

Epigenetics

We are identifying the genomic locations where the epigenetic signals of interest reside, and the conditions under which they can be used, and are using this information to develop reliable, precise, and accurate tests.

  • DNA extraction procedures are optimised for the form of sample collected.
  • The epigenetic analysis employs both scanning and targeted approaches.

 

Natural Abundance

We are building on our previous work based on the sub-fractionation of organics (primarily the various saturated, mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids), their analysis for both 2H and 13C isotopes, and the interpretation based on knowledge of metabolic transformations.

 

Distributed Ledger Technology 

Solutions require accuracy, precision, and security to monitor the human food supply chain and to marry this with Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) approaches that allow the acquisition and availability of data in near real-time. Several software platforms are already available, nationally, and internationally, for the use of DLT in the food supply chain. The challenge is to make a secure reliable link between the 'food' and the identifier, preferably based on technology that can be used in the field to produce information that can be rapidly distributed. This project is developing algorithms based on the research findings linked to the above testing methodologies designed to provide this functionality. The algorithms are programmed in Python for real-world use within DLT.

Project Partners

The Rowett Institute

Progress

2022 / 2023
2022 / 2023

The overarching aims of this project are to design, develop and test new ways to determine food provenance and trace foods and food components in order to:

1. Reassure consumers of the provenance, quality and safety of the food that is on sale in Scotland
2. Facilitate the operation and reliability of quality assurance schemes
3. Assist the growth of the Scottish food industry by reliably identifying premium products of Scottish origin for export
4. Provide technologies that will protect the reputation of key food sectors, detect and deter food crime, and protect against food scandals
5. Improve the collation, availability and use of information to ensure Scotland has a world recognised food surveillance system
6. Ensure the operation and use of the above within innovative Distributed Ledger Technology systems.

The project seeks to develop generic technologies, based on novel approaches to DNA and chemical analysis, that can be used to track food systems and provenance across a wide range of produce and sectors, suitable for use in so called blockchain or distributed ledger systems. It focuses on iconic Scottish produce (salmon, fish, and meat such as beef and lamb). It seeks to develop methodologies and build data that can identify and track the origin of Scottish food products by producing methods that can be used to identify the provenance of commodities of economic importance in Scotland and to protect Scottish food supply chains and the wellbeing and interests of consumers.

The project has involved extensive engagement with stakeholders to identify priorities, and the initial phase of method development to meet those priorities. We have also purchased or accessed a large number of foods and food products with associated information relevant to provenance. As part of this process we have worked closely with colleagues at the James Hutton Institute and FSS to access samples from the British beef Origins Project II and we have been analysing those.

 

Epigenetic sequencing test runs for beef, lamb, pork and salmon are ongoing. A demonstration of the utility of the isotopic analysis work was carried out for samples from the British Beef Origins Project II and presented to RESAS and stakeholders. Method development is ongoing and we are evaluating the potential to adapt the epigenetic lab methods for use in the field for rapid testing and monitoring of foods and food products.

 

Presentations

  • Progress on the project was presented at the RESAS Topic B5 End-of-Year meeting in Edinburgh on the 17th March 2023. The title of the presentation was “Protecting the Scottish food industry and consumers: novel approaches to provenance and food tracking”
  • The relevance of the project to provenance, Scottish food and drink reputation, protected food names, regulation and food security, and the application of the project outputs to these, were discussed with RESAS Science Advisers (including the CSA) and Scottish Government policy teams from “EU Exit and Trade Unit”, “Food and Drink Regulation and Trade”, “Food Security Unit” “Tobacco, Gambling & Healthy Weight Unit” at Saughton House in Nov 2023.

 

Previous Projects 

Related Projects

Importance of Healthy Diets

The aim of this RD is to investigate the role of diet in determining health within and between generations and the complex interactions with social and economic status. It is designed to advance our understanding of the following key issues:

  • Examine the effects of prenatal parental diet on lifelong physical and mental health of offspring, taking account of socioeconomic...
  • Human Nutrition
  • Diet & Food Safety
  • 2016-2022