Research conducted by ANSTO and published in Food Control reveals the presence of fraudulent Kakadu plum extracts in the global market. The Kakadu plum, native to northern Australia, is primarily harvested in the wild, with Indigenous Australians contributing significantly to its production. ANSTO's collaboration with the Northern Australian Kakadu Plum Alliance (NAAKPA) aims to safeguard authentic products through the development of a provenance validation approach. This method generates unique iso-elemental fingerprints for Kakadu plum extracts, enabling the distinction of genuine products from counterfeits.
The study involved the analysis of commercially available Kakadu plum powders using stable isotope analysis and X-ray fluorescence elemental profiling, comparing them against samples from First Nations harvesters. Findings indicated that all powders sourced from overseas were not authentic. The research underscores the economic and cultural importance of the Kakadu plum industry to Indigenous communities in Australia and highlights the necessity of scientific methods to protect the industry's integrity.
Source: ansto.gov.au