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To conduct a feasibility study into the marking of Category 3 (low risk) animal by-products

Project Code: M01026

07/04/2011

LGC
Farnell, P ; Slack, P

The aim of project M01026 was to conduct a desk-based feasibility study to identify suitable markers that would enable the detection of human food products containing Category 3 animal by-products. This study determined the criteria that potential markers should possess and identified a range of likely candidates, which were then reviewed against the criteria, to produce a shortlist of candidate compounds.

A number of chemical compounds have emerged from this study as potential Category 3 markers (i.e. tridecanoic acid, undecanoic acid, glycerol triundecanoate). These are chemically similar to, but would be readily analytically distinguishable from, glycerol triheptanoate (GTH), a marker that is currently being proposed in draft EU legislation for Category 1 and 2 materials.

Although these markers meet most of the desirable criteria (i.e. non-toxic, chemically stable, colourless), the laboratory-based analyses required for detection could have practical difficulties in an enforcement context. Identification of a visible marker that is not a colour, i.e. a chemical marker that fluoresces under ultraviolet light, could overcome this.

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