Open AccessLocally Grown, Natural Ingredients? The Isotope Ratio Can Reveal a Lot!
Author(s) -
Joël S. Rossier,
Valérie Maury,
Elmar Pfammatter
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chimia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.387
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 2673-2424
pISSN - 0009-4293
DOI - 10.2533/chimia.2016.345
Subject(s) - asparagus , isotope , stable isotope ratio , wine , isotope ratio mass spectrometry , chemistry , environmental science , environmental chemistry , mass spectrometry , food science , biology , botany , chromatography , physics , quantum mechanics
This communication gives an overview of selected isotope analyses applied to food authenticity assessment. Different isotope ratio detection technologies such as isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) are briefly described. It will be explained how ?18O of water contained in fruits and vegetables can be used to assess their country of production. It will be explained why asparagus grown in Valais, in the centre of the Alps carries much less heavy water than asparagus grown closer to the sea coast. On the other hand, the use of ?13C can reveal whether a product is natural or adulterated. Applications including honey or sparkling wine adulteration detection will be briefly presented.