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Demand for cheap meat has increased the potential for fraudulent food labeling, which exploded in public debate in 2009 and 2013. Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) is a technology originally developed to identify bone fragments from archaeological sites by determining the sequence of the bone protein, collagen. By applying this research to the food industry we have provided evidence of fraud. In 2009 ZooMS identified pig and cow gelatin being pumped into chicken meat to increase weight. Action taken by the food producers when confronted with our research respected the beliefs of up to 3.8milliona people in the UK who choose to avoid pig and cow products.
York's analytical methods have been applied in food authentication, traceability and safety and have been shown to be superior to other methods. Mass spectrometric methods developed in York for the identification of archaeological bone samples rely on analysing surviving fragments of the bone protein, collagen. These techniques also identify collagen fragments present in gelatin-based plumping agents that retain water in meats for human consumption. York's authentication applications disclosed the animal species from which the collagen was derived, and revealed contamination of chicken with pork-derived plumping agents, a significant issue in communities with halal and kosher diets. These results have been disseminated by high-profile media reporting, including a one-hour BBC special, and the press. The Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA, a DEFRA agency) has validated the York analytical method and applied it to processed food and pharmaceutical products. An inter-laboratory trial transferred the method to other food enforcement laboratories across Europe and the USA (including the US FDA). The results were highlighted in the press in 2009 and the debate over food authentication exploded in 2013 highlighting the economic effects of mislabelling. This research therefore has impact on public and commercial services as well as public debate.
The spectroscopic observation in the interstellar medium (ISM) of an increasing number of molecules has demonstrated the presence of a rich chemistry, especially in the low temperature (ca. 10 K) environment of dense interstellar clouds. Understanding this chemistry requires the combined efforts of modellers and laboratory scientists. In the 1990's, research at the University of Birmingham pioneered a series of unique measurements in which rate coefficients for reactions were measured at temperatures down to as low as 13 K. These results have made a significant impact on the world leading space agencies (NASA and ESA), who have benefited from this research through gaining a better understanding of interstellar chemistry. Mission priorities and instrument design have been influenced by this improved understanding with three (out of a total of 21) instruments carried by NASA's Rosetta comet-rendezvous mission designed to carry out activities that draw significantly on the Birmingham findings. This demonstrates the impact on the allocation of budgets by these agencies and their scientific aims. The detection of molecules and the study of their formation are now viewed as top priorities, which ultimately impacts on the search for bio-signatures and life elsewhere in the Solar System.