REVIEWS


POPULAR SCIENCE It’s ne’er beef


The horse who came to dinner


If you suspect that the superiority claims made for certain wines are simply nonsense, then this is the book for you. Chapter 4 reveals that as many as 10,000 fake bottles of wine have been sold at auctions by villains, such as Rudy Kurniawan, some having been bought for as much as $40,000. We can mock such gullibility, but


Author Glenn Taylor


Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry Pages 237 Price £21.99 ISBN 978-1-78801-137-2


Reviewer John Emsley is a popular science writer based in Cambridge, UK


before we become too smug, we should be aware that food fraud is so prevalent that the chances are that we will all have fallen victim to the fraudsters if we eat beef burgers or white fish, or use virgin olive oil. It was the 2013 scam in which horsemeat was substituted for beef, that motivated Glenn Taylor to write his remarkable book. This incident was the first time that a criminal case had been brought against food fraudsters, and Taylor comments he hopes it won’t be the last. The culprits were Peter Boddy


CORRIGENDUM Eagle-eyed readers will have seen that in the Reviews section of Issue 4 (p37), the title of the book was incorrectly stated in the information panel. The correct title for the book is: The rhubarb connection and other revelations. C&I apologises for any inconvenience caused.


and David Moss, owner and manager, respectively, of an abattoir in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, which was authorised to slaughter horses. They then sold the horsemeat as beef to the producers of various products, which ended up on supermarket Tesco’s shelves. The incident was deemed appalling by the British media because horses are thought of as pets, disregarding the fact that horsemeat is part of the human diet in France, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany. However, in the UK it could not possibly be condoned; something had to be done. The fraudsters were put on trial and both men were convicted, fined, and given suspended jail sentences. Glenn


Taylor tells how the horsemeat fraud led to changes in the law and explains


that such fraud is still very difficult to prove forensically. That said, many of us realise that a lot of what is said about food is suspect. Few, for example, will believe that ‘extra virgin’ olive oil has been pressed on specially sterilised equipment, so it is totally free from contamination. More than 75% of extra virgin olive oil is labelled as such in the shops, but most is adulterated with cheaper olive oil and, in some cases, with sunflower, palm and rapeseed oil. This deceitful activity even occurs in countries where olive oil is produced.


‘Locally grown’ is a claim often


used by those selling food, in the belief that this will resonate with customers who may then be persuaded to pay a premium price. So it was with the asparagus sellers of the Munster region of Germany in 2006. However, someone spotted that far more asparagus was being sold than could possibly have been produced locally, and yet all the greengrocers said that what they sold was locally grown. How could the authorities prove they were lying?


O in the asparagus, which allowed chemists to identify the region where the asparagus was grown and thus prove that most of the


isotopic ratios of 15 18


The answer was to measure the N, 13


C, 34 S, and


asparagus on sale was not local but came from France, Spain and other regions of Germany. Within a year, less than 5% of asparagus in the local markets claimed to be locally grown, down from 50%. While Taylor’s focus is on the


ways to combat food fraud and the various methods by which it can be detected, he also covers other areas where fraud is prevalent, such as dietary supplements. I would have liked him to tackle the emotive issues of ‘organic’ food and GM crops, but that may be taking the problem of food fraud a step too far. Between 1 and 20% of the food and drink we consume is fraudulent in one way or another. More than £25bn/year world-wide ends up in the pockets of fraudsters, some of whom are part of well-organised criminal networks. Thankfully, few people die by eating such food. However, the resources to thwart this abuse could be much improved and that’s the main theme of The horse who came to dinner. This book has a message for those whose job it is to ensure that the food we eat is fit for purpose and not adulterated in any way. Taylor would like to see a much more interactive system of monitoring and checking beyond the system currently operating, and this theme underpins much of the book. Despite its tabloid-style chapter headings and references to pop songs, The horse who came to dinner is a serious attempt to influence the poor status of food regulations around the world. The reforms are long overdue.


The book is a clarion call to action and there are many people, from analysts to politicians, who should


read it.


38 06 | 2019


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