fiin – a quick round-up of 2025

2025 marked 10 years of fiin, an important milestone and a good opportunity to reflect on how the network continues to support our members and help ensure supply chain integrity. This year, we shared over 50,000 test results, bringing the total number of results held within the database to more than 420,000. Alongside quarterly data submissions, we also issued nine alerts, drawing on intelligence from members and regulators to highlight time-sensitive authenticity risks.

We welcomed Avara Foods, Thistle Seafoods and Futura Foods to the network, bringing membership to 70 organisations. We continue to work closely with regulators, helping to connect industry insight with enforcement activity for a more comprehensive view of supply chain risks. As these risks continue to evolve, our support for members extends beyond data sharing to include the identification and sharing of best practice, training on emerging analytical approaches, and opportunities for member collaboration. 

As part of this, we delivered member webinars during the year, including a session on elemental profiling for origin presented by Dr. Simon Kelly from FERA and organised with the Food Authenticity Network, and a webinar on honey testing research presented by Dr. Maria Anastasiadi from Cranfield University. 

In January, we restructured our Technical Steering Group (TSG), which now consists of 19 member organisations from manufacturing, retail and food service. We also introduced guest speakers to TSG meetings, welcoming Professor Chris Elliott to the first session on data fusion, with the  National Food Crime Unit joining the next meeting to discuss food crime reporting. 

In response to member feedback, the TSG re-established the fiin honey working group, led by Steve Brown from Barfoots and established a meat and fish content working group, led by Steve Tough from Greencore. A country-of-origin working group will follow in the new year.

Alongside member testing, we carry out fiin-funded authenticity testing using both member and independently sourced samples, with priorities identified through fiin data, horizon scanning and member input. This year, our third round of collaborative testing focused on illegal dyes and heavy metals in spices and black pepper adulteration.

In June, we brought members together at the fiin Conference at the ICC Birmingham, marking our 10-year anniversary and looking ahead to the future. We’ll be returning to the same venue on 30 June 2026. This year also marked the end of an era as Helen Sisson stepped down as Co-Chair from the fiin Board, and we took time to celebrate her leadership and commitment to the network. 

One of the most significant developments in 2025 was the launch of the fiin SME Hub (https://www.fiin.co.uk/sme-hub), designed to support smaller businesses. The hub is freely accessible from our public website and includes a commodity watchlist, drawing on fiin member testing and horizon scanning, alongside practical food fraud tools and guidance to help SMEs better understand and manage authenticity risks.

A huge thank you to our members, the TSG and our other contributors for their engagement this year – we look forward to working together in 2026!