Food Fraud – Washington Post

Our high school DNA study with Brenda Tan and Matt Cost was the lead item in front-page article on “food fraud” in Washington Post on March 30, 2010. In addition to detailing the students’ findings, reporter Lyndsey Layton quotes PHE researcher Mark Stoeckle on DNA barcode testing of food, “If it’s simple enough that high school students with some supervision can do it, it moves out of the research application to something you can do regularly.”  The WP article was widely reported and discussed in food-related blogs, and prompted a statement from Congressman John Dingell (MI), noting “more evidence of…insufficient authorities and resources to ensure the quality and safety of the U.S. food supply,” and calling for passage of H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act”.