Today we are off to New Zealand to talk farm forensics. It's a bit like interviewing the lead detective on a crime scene to learn the truth about where our food and fibre really comes from. Fraud is alive and well in the global supply chain. So how do you know whether that Egyptian Cotton really comes from Egypt or that grass-fed Australian beef is as advertised? Oritain are the scientists untangling that web - tracing the provenance of an item not just to country of origin but in some cases back to a specific region. To learn more about the process, the company's Head of Strategic Sales Sam Lind joins me to discuss:
- Sam works at Oritain, a company which pools samples to establish a large global library of data.
- Nature gives us 'chemical fingerprints' which pertain to not only soil, but product commodities like honey and coffee.
- The scientific method is a forensic process similar to 'Jane Doe' mysteries, and is being used to verify a product's origin.
- The science is so exact, it is possible to determine not only country or origin, but in the case of tea all the way down to a specific estate withing that region.
- Utilising mystery shoppers to build benchmark data.
- Food fraud is a 49-billion-dollar problem stemming from a lack of objective data.
- The difference between intentional noncompliance and noncompliance due to the nature of the supply chain.
- The largest and fastest growing area at Oritain is textiles and, Sam shares how consumers have driven the traceability conversation.
- Mineral profiles and stable isotopes are the indicators used in food and textile forensic diagnosis.
- What Sam loves most about is role and the most unexpected discovery he has made in the lab.
- The challenges related to the agricultural space in the future.
- Sam's dream for Oritain.
We hope to see you back on the road soon, to learn more about how Australia grows on the next episode of Australian Farmers with Angie Asimus.
Links:
Angie Asimus
Connect with @angieasimus on Instagram
Partnered with Australian Farmers
Follow @australianfarmers On Instagram
Oritain
Connect with Sam Lind on LinkedIn
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