00:01Europe's best food safety experts are joining forces to crack down on fraud.
00:06Euronews is following them in this special series called The Food Detectives.
00:10In this episode we're following the team fighting counterfeit olive oil in Italy.
00:23Every drop of olive oil has its own story.
00:27But sometimes what looks like the real deal is in fact counterfeit.
00:32L'olio d'oliva è il cibo che è più soggetto ad adulterazioni a frodi tra tutti i generali alimentari.
00:42È facile miscelarlo con oli valore minore, con oli di semi, con altri composti che ne alterano la qualità.
00:52Such fraud may impact consumer health and it's done for easy profit.
00:57L'olio può variare da poco a un altissimo valore.
01:02Quindi c'è una grossa forchetta all'interno del quale si possono verificare le frodi.
01:06Questo viene aggravato dal fatto che la catena del valore dell'olio è estremamente frammentata.
01:12So, olive oil maker Antonella Meyer-Mashrilli is working with the food detectives from the EU's Watson project in their mission to beat fraud.
01:22Her secret weapon is genetic code.
01:25She uses DNA tests to guarantee the identity of her oils.
01:29Abbiamo scelto di far analizzare i nostri oli nel DNA per creare più trasparenza, più fiducia con i nostri consumatori.
01:40Molti produttori fanno marketing con foto di alberi millenari, ma alla fine non si tratta di olio di questi alberi.
01:50E noi, per renderci credibili, abbiamo questa certificazione.
01:54Perché è una certezza che in più diamo ai nostri consumatori.
02:06Such genetic testing is still very rare among olive oil producers, as it takes time and money.
02:13Until today it's only been done in research labs.
02:16But the food detectives are now bringing the lab directly to the mill.
02:20Release our DNA.
02:22Greek biotech experts Stelios Ahondakis and Savir Tsikoraki
02:26are developing a solution to make DNA testing more accessible and easier to carry out.
02:32We just opened the door for the first time in the world
02:37to do a DNA testing of an olive oil outside of a lab.
02:41We are introducing a device called field DNA.
02:45This device allows to isolate DNA from an olive oil sample in field conditions.
02:54So that's it. We are ready to analyse our DNA.
02:58The food detectives portable DNA kit still needs refining.
03:04But it's on the right track.
03:06The development of a technology is always a challenge.
03:10Because you need to validate, you need to test it, you need to optimise
03:14until you reach a good performance.
03:17And be sure that you have something that is solid.
03:20It is a path that we are under now, we are investigating.
03:24Hopefully to be able to launch this product within the next month, year.
03:30Producers, millers and packages across Umbria welcome the innovation.
03:37It's the base, it's what can help us companies, us olive oil farmers,
03:45to protect the territory and the product that we do.
03:48To have an analysis that guarantees that that product comes from that plant
03:53is the most beautiful thing we can do.
03:55Watson's project gives us clarity,
03:58and the final consumer is asking and looking for it more.
04:03Following the DNA tests, the food detectives are taking traceability one step further
04:10by giving each bottle a digital passport too.
04:13Tutti dati che durante la catena di produzione dell'olio oliva vengono raccolti
04:18sono assicurati all'interno della blockchain,
04:20ma vengono resi accessibili al consumatore,
04:24il quale potrà accedere molto facilmente tramite Aquare Code
04:28ha tutta la storia dell'olio a partire dal campo dove le olive sono state prodotte
04:33fino all'otto e al numero della bottiglia che ha acquistato.
04:42That's it for this episode of the Food Detectives.
04:45Please head over to our website for more reports on beating fraud
04:49and boosting traceability in meat, fish, dairy, honey and wine.
04:53See you soon!
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