Build a solid defense line for China's food safety with science and technology

Food safety is related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and food safety testing technology is an important means
to ensure food safety.

Break through the bottleneck

Hazardous material detection from "one by one" to "one by one"

"The CAS database has included 264 million kinds of chemical substances, which may be illegally added or polluted food, but only more than 2,000 chemical hazards have been included in the regulatory catalog.

Zhang Feng said that the development of chemical harmful substances detection technology in food has two major technical needs and difficulties
.

The contradiction between the massive amount of chemical substances and the limited standard technology for food safety testing is a common challenge
faced by many countries.

With innovative scientific spirit and excellent scientific research ability, the food institute has broken through the three major technical bottlenecks
of food safety testing technology.

"The mass spectrometry detection technology for new chemical hazards in food is still blank
in the world.

Face the odds

Adhere to the national food safety defense line by scientific and technological means

There are certain differences in food safety laws and standards between China and major trading countries, resulting in imported food risks being difficult to be discovered, and exported food is vulnerable to trade technical barriers, and it is urgent to capture regulatory changes in a timely manner, improve the accuracy, sensitivity and speed of detection, and accurately identify potential risks of detection technology
。 Zhang Feng led the national key research and development plan "Research on Key Technologies for Accurate Detection of Food Safety Regulations in International Trade", established a dynamic database of food regulatory differences, established a multi-dimensional and multi-mode holographic identification method, improved the level of China's import and export food safety technology system, and ensured the safety of import and export food
.

In 2017, a large number of foreign ambient milk was imported into China, in this context, the National Certification and Accreditation Commission commissioned the Food Institute to carry out the safety risk identification
of ultra-long shelf life milk.

Feng Zhang (second from right) and team members discuss work in the laboratory

Zhang Feng said that conventional food safety testing is generally to go to the factory site to check, but for imported milk, it is impossible to verify the production process on the spot, and it is necessary to analyze the unknown risks of the food processing process through the detection of terminal products, which is a huge challenge
.

In order to unravel the mystery, Zhang Feng led the team to treat the laboratory as a battlefield, worked together, repeatedly conducted technical research, collected a large number of raw milk samples in the pasture, introduced food omics technology, built a safe identification model of hot-processed milk, screened out 5 kinds of overheating markers, and developed overheated milk determination technology
for the first time in the world.

If the scientific assessment of the safety risks of imported milk with a long shelf life is a microcosm of the bottom line of the country, overcoming difficulties, and serving the major strategic needs of the country, then the outstanding performance in the EU porcini mushroom incident is a microcosm of Zhang Feng's team winning glory for the country and resolving international food safety disputes
.

Boletus mushrooms are rare wild edible mushrooms and one of the important export products in
China.

The successful resolution of crisis events is a common thing for the scientific research team of the Food Institute
.

In addition, in terms of supporting the development of national food safety supervision, the team has also set up the Food Standards Working Group of the Food Safety Sampling and Monitoring Secretariat of the State Administration for Market Regulation, which is responsible for organizing the standard revision of China's food supplementary inspection methods and food rapid testing methods, and puts forward the standard evaluation index system and methods, making positive contributions
to promoting the standardization and development of China's food testing technology.

On April 16 last year, the Food Institute was awarded the title
of Advanced Collective in the National Food Safety Work Commendation Teleconference.

(Fan Yongwei)

China Food News (2022-09-23 03 edition)

(Editor-in-charge: Zhou Yan)