Food provenance unpacked

Dr Debashish Mazumder is a Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Under his leadership, ANSTO has pioneered innovative provenance technologies, including field-deployable handheld XRF scanning techniques, to verify the origins of food products. These cutting-edge tools, rigorously validated on seafood and native bushfoods, address critical traceability and biosecurity challenges in trade. These tools help industries safeguard the integrity of their supply chains. Dr Mazumder collaborates with government agencies, industry partners, and academic institutions across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on food and environmental research.

Earned Doctor of Science from the Tokyo Metropolitan University in 2008. Worked for National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, NARO, from 2010 to present. Her research filed is development of analytical methods for tracing the geographical origin of food products using stable isotope and trace element analyses.

Born in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, in 1953. Earned MBA from Yale School of Management in 1984 and PhD in Agriculture and Life Sciences from the University of Tokyo in 2004. Worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from 1977 to 2007. Served as First Secretary in the Embassy of Japan in Rome and Alternate Permanent Representative of Japan to FAO in 1988-1991.

Mr Takashima works as a Director at the Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center (FAMIC) and is part of the Food Labelling Monitoring Division. FAMIC is an inspection agency in Japan that closely cooperates with the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). Since 2000, he has been involved in developing scientific inspection methods to verify the authenticity of food labelling.