CHAPTER 7: Fitness for Purpose of DNA-based Analytical Methods

Recent food fraud incidents have raised awareness of the importance of standardising testing approaches and analytical laboratory capability in the UK. This has required the development of a harmonised approach for food authenticity analysis, which has resulted in approaches which are fit for purpose to support the enforcement of food labelling law. The complexity of food matrices, coupled with the inherent challenges associated with the application of molecular biology approaches to food analysis can result in assays that are not fit for purpose, particularly for the quantitative determination of food ingredients. There are numerous factors to consider when validating a molecular biology-based method for food authenticity, assessing analytical confidence and estimating meaurement uncertainty to verify the method as adequate for intended use.