CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, has today launched an important new national resource of isotopic data – food's unique fingerprint – that can be used to help protect and further grow Australia's reputation for high-quality, safe, and sustainably-produced food.
Isotopes.au consolidates a treasure trove of isotopic data from Australia's leading research agencies into a single, open-access and trusted resource, which can be used by regulators and industry to verify a food's provenance and sustainability claims and ensure compliance with trade regulations.
Isotopic data can be used to identify where key food commodities were grown, as well as the amount of water or carbon emissions that were part of production.
CSIRO lead scientist, Dr Nina Welti, said Isotopes.au could also underpin the development of sustainability standards for Australia's $80 billion agriculture and food export industry.
"Customers increasingly want to know where and how their food was sourced so they can make ethical and more sustainable choices," Dr Welti said.
"Isotopes are unique chemical 'fingerprints' that imprint clues of a product's origin, as well as the inputs that went into production, and environmental factors like soil nutrients and groundwater flows.
"This is just the beginning of capturing Australia's wealth of isotopic data into one place – Isotopes.au – to help industries demonstrate how they're meeting environmental targets for greater transparency with trading partners and consumers."
Isotopes.au was developed by CSIRO in partnership with Geoscience Australia, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), and the National Measurement Institute, with co-investment from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC).
Isotopes.au will continue to be expanded to include more data, broadening beyond land-based measurements. For example, the fisheries and aquaculture industry are set to reap benefits as additional applications are developed to track marine products through the supply chain.
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation General Manager for ICT and Digitalisation, Kyaw Kyaw Soe Hlaing, said timely access to supply chain data is key to responding to several challenges facing the sector.
"Data is key to maintaining sustainable practices, reducing carbon emissions and responding to increasing competition for marine space," Mr Soe Hlaing said.
"We use isotopes to answer questions about fish movements and food web dynamics.
"Isotopes.au is a powerful tool that complements our ARDC-supported research infrastructure project, which is looking to liberate key sources of fisheries and aquaculture data."
Isotopes.au aligns with industry goals to consolidate data for more trusted supply chains, and aligns with the National Agricultural Traceability Strategy.
It could also support the development of food circularity in production systems by underpinning safety standards for food reuse.
The resource complements a suite of CSIRO research and innovations aimed at growing the value of Australia's agrifood exports, including a digital ecosystem to boost food safety and new tools to simplify and manage pest risks.
This project received co-investment from the ARDC. The ARDC is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
