The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) is taking a significant step to ensure the longevity of its certified reference materials (CRMs). By making seven of its CRMs as digital CRMs, the JRC enhances accessibility and utility for laboratories worldwide.
The wine industry faces significant threats from authenticity, adulteration and fraud, particularly through the illicit addition of exogenous sugars to grape must to artificially boost alcohol content. However, stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance (SNIF-NMR) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), offer a powerful means of detecting such adulterations. By combining these techniques, researchers can determine the botanical and geographical origin of wine samples, providing a robust tool for authenticity testing in line with Regulation (EU) 1308/2013.
The JRC produced a CRM, EURM®-023, a dried fish powder for the species Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) to help fighting food fraud. This CRM allows verifying correct labelling of fresh fish and fish products, following Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013.
Authenticity, adulteration and fraud are significant challenges for the wine sector. The addition of exogenous sugar to grape must to raise the alcohol content after fermentation, may lead to illegal practices and fraud.
A new, JRC-developed reference material will support labs worldwide to compare medical tests for coeliac disease and improve the accuracy of diagnosis.
Following the mad cow disease or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) a total feed ban of processed animal proteins (PAP) was introduced. Twenty years later, Commission Regulation (EU) No 2021/1372 allowed the use of PAPs derived from non-ruminant farmed animals as protein source for other non-ruminant animals. To enable the monitoring of the origin of proteins, the JRC released a new certified reference material (CRM) ERM-AD482k.
