Consumers will soon know if their Sagada coffee, Davao cacao, Guimaras mango and halal food are authentic as advertised.
These food are set to be tested for their authenticity with the use of isotope by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PNRI).
This was announced by Dr. Angel Bautista VII on his Facebook page as he said that the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) governing council has approved the funding for the researches for 2022.
“We just received the official letter [from PCIEERD] that our program proposal on using isotopes for food authenticity and traceability has been approved for funding!” said, Bautista, the Supervising Science Research Specialist and Section Head of the Nuclear Materials Research Section of DOST-PNRI, in his Facebook post. He posted the PCIEERD letter on his Facebook page.
The program, “Food Authenticity and Origin Traceability Using Isotope Techniques,” focuses on following food commodities:
1. Organic and Halal Food, led by Raymond Jacinto Sucgang, DOST-PNRI
2. Carabao Mango, led by Gerald Dicen, DOST-PNRI
3. Coffee and Cacao Beans, led by Mel Garcia, De La Sall University Manila
4. Honey (Phase 2), led by Bautista, DOST-PNRI.
The result on the Phase 1 isotope test on honey, that was also led by Bautista, was released in December 2020. It showed that 82 percent of honey brands in the Philippines were fake.
An earlier study showed that 80 percent of vinegar brands sold in the country were also fake.
“To describe the program simply, we aim to tell if your ‘Guimaras Mango’ really came from Guimaras, or your ‘Sagada Coffee’ really came from Sagada, or your ‘Single Origin Davao Cacao’ really came from Davao, all [by] using isotopes!” Bautista said.
Moreover, the program includes the detailed design and feasibility study of the establishment of the National Isotopes Center, which will house the analytical capabilities for the program and so much more, he said.
“We are excited and looking forward to this new challenge! We’ll do our best! Ganbarimasu [Japanese for I’ll do my best]!” Bautista said.
Bautista said in an earlier interview with the Philippines Graphic that both the findings on honey and vinegar were submitted to the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (DA-BAFS) and the Food and Drug Administration.
DOST-PNRI refuses to disclose the companies that produce or sell adulterated or fake honey.
“If we just release the names of the companies, they may stop for a while. But no one can stop them from faking honey again in the future. If we incorporate these isotope-based standards into our regulatory system and the Philippine National Standards [PNS], then we think it will be long-lasting solution to this problem,” Bautista said.
The researchers call for “stricter policies, regulation, and control measures to protect the honey and vinegar industries and buyers,” he said.
“You may be buying honey for its wonderful health benefits, but because of adulteration, you may actually just be buying pure sugar syrup. Consuming too much pure sugar syrup can lead to harmful health effects,” he added.
The DOST-PNRI’s recommended revision in the standards was to include carbon-stable isotope parameters in the “Essential Composition and Quality Factors” Section, Bautista told the Philippines Graphic.
Another is the addition of the stable isotope analysis in the “Methods of Sampling and Analysis” Section of the PNS on Honey.
The proposed revision passed the pre-assessment and prioritization criteria of DA-BAFS and is now included in the 2022 priority list of DA-BAFS, he said.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons