Tea Authentication Protocol to Chemically Verify Origins

By Dan Bolton

The Institute for Global Food Security is analyzing the leaf chemistry of tea from a broad range of geographical locations to create a map identifying the “chemical fingerprints” of tea samples. The protocols can be used to verify the tea was grown at the stated origin as marketed. The rigorous examination uses state-of-the art spectrometry and artificial intelligence modeling to also identify the presence of bulking agents, dyes, and adulterants, soapstone, plumbago, and gypsum. In their review of vulnerable food supply chains, Professor Chris Elliott and researcher Dr. Di Wu found tea to be at high-risk due to the complicated nature of tea production, making authenticity testing a tricky undertaking, according to New Food Magazine.

Elliott, a professor of food safety with the (Assured, Safe and Traceable) ASSET Technology Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, said that “once these statistical models are built, they will be validated with further samples of known origins to calculate the predictive capability of the methods. The most robust (accurate) technique will be selected, and the method will be fully validated to international standards. This method will then be transferred to laboratories across the world, said Elliott. Learn more…

Biz Insight – Professor Elliott is seeking partnerships with tea companies and research organization as well as major retailers to join in the effort to improve the integrity of the world’s tea supply chains. Here are his contact details: Professor Chris Elliott, Institute for Global Food Security, Biological Sciences Building, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL Northern Ireland | IGFS@qub.ac.uk | +44 (0) 28 9097 6514.

Tea Biz Blog and Podcast | Signup Free