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How do independent, competing but cooperating organisations choose to make information accessible to each other in a way that is safe, legally valid and demonstrably beneficial? How can building the trust necessary for such exchange be made swifter and simpler? 

Data trusts, and more specifically trust frameworks, offer a mechanism to manage decentralised and distributed collections of data that are temporarily linked in limited and specific ways, so that information can be shared securely. 

As digital technologies transform the landscape of food production and enable new businesses and new business models that harness the opportunities offered by data, there is further need to refocus the regulatory lens from analogue to digital information. This will require regulators to adapt and collaborate. In the case of the FSA, this would support its mission to ensure food is safe and authentic, while respecting and securing food business operators’ commercial sensitivities.

Data trusts are generally envisaged as centralised libraries of information where data is to be securely shared for some greater good. That data is put firmly under the responsibility of a stewardship function that has the responsibility of acting in the interest of all parties. This raises multiple ethical and legal challenges, especially if the trust has more than a narrow, focused agreed purpose on which the stewardship can focus.

The data trust’s stewardship function may be carried out by one or more individuals who make decisions regarding the data in terms of what can be done with it, and to it, on behalf of the owners and stakeholders. It is possible that the information sources in a data trust could be commercial organisations willing to allow both societal and monetary benefits to be derived from suitably anonymised slices of their commercial data holdings. However, for most transactions of a commercial nature between businesses, and the food sector is no exception, security and privacy are paramount.

Honey is a natural, complex mixture of different sugars produced entirely by bees. According to the UN, there are more than 90 million managed beehives around the world producing about 1.9 million tonnes of honey worth more than £5 billion a year. That honey will then be packaged, as single origin or a blend of honey from different sources, and sold for consumption. Given the size of the market and the immense environmental benefits of beekeeping – three out of four crops depend on pollination by bees – it is an industry on which both livelihoods and lives depend. 

As a labour-intensive, high-value expensive product with an often complex supply chain, honey is subject to internationally and nationally agreed definitions – and is a target for adulteration. Testing honey is therefore critical, but there is no single universal analytical method available which is capable of detecting all types of adulteration with adequate sensitivity. A variety of methods are used to detect honey adulteration, each test has strengths and weaknesses, and there are issues with interpretation.

Testing for honey adulterated with added sugars may be based on analytical techniques using analytical tools, such as those using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). This is especially helpful in detecting certain types of adulteration, such as the addition of cane or beet sugars. Bees generally forage on plants that use the same photosynthetic pathway as beet sugars. This makes it difficult for traditional tests based on isotopic differences to provide effective results. The ‘chemical fingerprint’ provided by NMR is specific to the sample that has been tested and can be compared with the fingerprint from other sample results enabling the user to assess consistency. 

A potential route forward could be a new mechanism to achieve trusted and trustworthy data sharing between key stakeholders along the honey analysis and supply chain. Previous work on how a data trust framework might enable the permissioned sharing of data among collaborating stakeholders offers one such approach to the challenge of regulatory compliant testing for honey authenticity.

Our solution demonstrated an approach where valuable test data and associated evidence could be securely addressed by regulators without undermining the commercial viability of the independent testing laboratories.

At Infoculture Limited Research Foundation, we are dedicated to funding innovative research projects that have the potential to change the world. Our team of experts carefully selects and supports the most promising researchers in various fields, including medicine, technology, and environmental science. We believe that through research, we can create a brighter future for all.