Food forensics: Techniques for authenticity determination of food products

Abstract

The need for reliable and precise analytical techniques for food authentication and traceability has increased in recent decades due to the excessive competition for the production of competitive food products which leads to a high chance of food fraud. In this article, applications of several analytical techniques such as DNA-based techniques, spectrometric techniques, spectroscopic techniques, chromatographic techniques, lateral flow immunoassays, and neutron and proton based nuclear analytical techniques for forensic food analysis have been discussed. These sophisticated techniques are capable to analyze the food samples rapidly and permit the identification of specific parameters which are useful for investigations of food frauds in various legal issues. These techniques also pave-the-way, to discover the answers to many important analytical questions relating to food authentication and traceability in the field of food forensics. In addition, forensic analysis of dyes in food, seafood, plant-based food, beverages, and forensic analysis of postmortem viscera are reviewed.

Keywords: Adulteration; Authentication; Food fraud; Forensics food; Traceability.