Adulterations

The adulteration of fruit juices is widespread. As with any commodity, juice manufacturers, blenders and users can secure considerable financial benefit from adulterating fruit juice. It should be emphasised that food safety issues are not normally an issue in fruit juice adulteration. The issue is simply the fact that traders and consumers are being defrauded an adulterated fruit juice sold as pure fruit juice is not as it has been labelled. 

Although adulteration is becoming increasingly sophisticated, it is normally seen as falling into one of three types  

The issue of too much water being added to juices has largely been addressed through the application of a minimum solids content (measured in degrees Brix). Many countries now have in place a minimum Brix value for various juices. These minima are backed either by legal statute or industry code of practice. They normally apply to juices prepared by adding water to concentrate and not to not from concentrate products. 

The second category of adulteration is by far the most common. For example, apple juice will normally contain around 11% by weight of solids. At least 90% of these solids are carbohydrates - sucrose, dextrose and fructose predominating. Considerably cheaper sources of carbohydrates can be found, and the simple addition of a mixture of carbohydrates in roughly the same proportion as those found naturally in apple juice can be used to stretch apple juice by a considerable proportion. In more sophisticated forms of adulteration the added components can be made to cany a similar signature to the juice. 

In the third category a cheaper juice can be used to adulterate a more expensive one for example, elderberry juice can be used to extend strawberry or rasp-beny juice. 

---

The price of platinum has varied widely. More than a century ago platinum was used to adulterate gold and was worth nearly eight times more than gold in 1920. The price in January 1990 was about 500/troy oz. 

In milk fat, cholesterol is associated with Hpoproteins in the milk fat globule. It is also a component of animal membranes and controls rigidity and permeabihty of the membranes. Cholesterol has interesting surface properties and can occur in Hquid crystalline forms. Plants contain sterols such as P-sitosterol [83-46-5] (4b) or stigmasterol [83-48-7] (4c). Their functions in plant metaboHsm are not yet well understood. Analysis of sterols has proven useful for detection of adulteration of edible fats (9). 

Although the use of simple diluents and adulterants almost certainly predates recorded history, the use of fillers to modify the properties of a composition can be traced as far back as eady Roman times, when artisans used ground marble in lime plaster, frescoes, and po22olanic mortar. The use of fillers in paper and paper coatings made its appearance in the mid-nineteenth century. Functional fillers, which introduce new properties into a composition rather than modify pre-existing properties, were commercially developed eady in the twentieth century when Goodrich added carbon black to mbber and Baekeland formulated phenol— formaldehyde plastics with wood dour. 

Saffron. Saffron spice is the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae), a bulbous perennial native to southern Europe and Asia Minor and cultivated in the Mediterranean countries, particularly Spain. Tme saffron should not be confused with either meadow saffron, ie, Colchicum autumnale L. (Lihaceae) also called safflower, or bastard saffron, ie, Carthamus tinctorius L. (Compositae), both of which are occasionally used to adulterate tme saffron. 

Applications. The most ubiquitous use of infrared spectrometry is chemical identification. It has long been an important tool for studying newly synthesi2ed compounds in the research lab, but industrial identification uses cover an even wider range. In many industries ir spectrometry is used to assay feedstocks (qv). In the flavors (see Flavors and spices), fragrances (see Perfumes), and cosmetics (qv) industries, it can be used not only for gross identification of feedstocks, but for determining specific sources. The spectra of essential oils (see Oils, essential), essences, and other natural products vary with the season and source. Adulteration and dilution can also be identified. 

Milk consists of 85—89% water and 11—15% total soflds (Table 1) the latter comprises soflds-not-fat (SNF) and fat. Milk having a higher fat content also has higher SNF, with an increase of 0.4% SNF for each 1% fat increase. The principal components of SNF are protein, lactose, and minerals (ash). The fat content and other constituents of the milk vary with the animal species, and the composition of milk varies with feed, stage of lactation, health of the animal, location of withdrawal from the udder, and seasonal and environmental conditions. The nonfat soflds, fat soflds, and moisture relationships are well estabhshed and can be used as a basis for detecting adulteration with water (qv). Physical properties of milk are given in Table 2. 

In 1982, seven people died from consuming cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. The incident resulted in a total product recall, massive negative pubHcity for the product, new requirements for safe packaging, and a federal statute making product tampering a crime (2). Since that time, the packaging industry has become visible to most consumers. This awareness has benefited the consumer by a reduction in loss of life due to consumption of adulterated products from tampering. Never before has an industry reacted so swiftly to resolve a problem. 

Product tampering may be a foreseeable possibility and manufacturers have a responsibility to protect consumers against such possible acts. If a product iu an adulterated form could harm a consumer, manufacturers have the responsibiUty of protecting the product and consumer against such acts, meaning the use of tamper-evident packaging transcends FDA regulations. 

When illegal residues have been found in monitoring studies conducted by the FDA or USD A, the reason has often been that no U.S. tolerance had been requested for that particular pesticide in that specific crop. For example, an imported crop would be deemed to be adulterated and would be seized at the port of entry into the United States if found to contain a pesticide residue in the absence of a tolerance in that crop. This is so even if tolerances have been set for the same pesticide in several crops grown in the United States and the pesticide had been used to control a pest that does not exist in the United States. Furthermore, an international maximum residue level (MRL) might already have been estabUshed for that pesticide—crop combination under the Codex system of standards for food of importance in international trade. The U.S. GAO issued two reports on food safety and pesticides in 1991 (89,90). 

Any substance that is not GRAS or sanctioned by use prior to 1958 (prior sanctioned) is considered a food additive. The Act prohibits the marketing of a food additive unless PDA has pubHshed a regulation that approves the intended use of the substance (22). A food additive is deemed unsafe if it is used without an approving regulation a food is deemed adulterated if it is, bears, or contains an unapproved food additive. 

FDA s medical device regulations relating to adulteration and misbranding generally apply to devices intended for use on animals. These devices, however, are exempt from the 510(k) and PMA requirements. FDA has viewed animal grooming products as being outside of its purview. 

E. Corwin, EDH Consumer, 10—15 (Nov. 1976). Preventing Food Adulteration. Interesting background. 

The use or presence of poisonous or deleterious substances in cosmetics and dmgs is prohibited. The presence of such materials makes the product "adulterated" or "misbranded" and in violation of good manufacturing practices (GMP), which ate appHcable to dmgs and, with minor changes, to cosmetics (6). 

For filter-medium filtration, attributes 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 of the preceding list apply and must have added to them (o) ability to retain the solids required, (b) freedom from discharge of lint or other adulterant into the filtrate, and (c) ability to plug slowly (i.e., long life). 

If nutmeg butter, a commercial fat obtained by the hot pressing of ground nutmegs, is available, the above extraction may be omitted. The only operation necessary is a double crystallization of the crude material from boiling 95 per cent alcohol. Since nutmeg butter is frequently adulterated with foreign fats, the purity of the product should be checked by the saponification number (232 for pure trimyristin). 

The introduction of synthetic materials into natural products, often described as adulteration , is a common occurrence in food processing. The types of compounds introduced, however, are often chiral in nature, e.g. the addition of terpenes into fruit juices. The degree to which a synthetic terpene has been added to a natural product may be subsequently determined if chiral quantitation of the target species is enabled, since synthetic terpenes are manufactured as racemates. Two-dimensional GC has a long history as the methodology of choice for this particular aspect of organic analysis (38). 

Figure 3.7 shows some early examples of this type of analysis (39), illustrating the GC determination of the stereoisomeric composition of lactones in (a) a fruit drink (where the ratio is racemic, and the lactone is added artificially) and (b) a yoghurt, where the non-racemic ratio indicates no adulteration. Technically, this separation was enabled on a short 10 m slightly polar primary column coupled to a chiral selective cyclodextrin secondary column. Both columns were independently temperature controlled and the transfer cut performed by using a Deans switch, with a backflush of the primary column following the heart-cut. 

The enantiomeric distribution can be very useful for identifying adulterated foods and beverages, for controlling and monitoring fermentation processes and products, and evaluating age and storage effects (1). 

The principal adulterant of this oil it ordinaiy turpenline, which, of course, reduces che ester value, aud yields a large amount of discilUce Imlow llirA... 

No portion of the oil distils helms 170", and any disiillale obtaiuOil beluw that temperature indicates adulteration tsitb tarpcouue. 

Specimen F waa said to have bccu obtained Irom old and young leaves and to have been adulterated with kiiroseut. and therefore to he -of no use to the dealer price 200. When lironght into water, this oil formed a compact mass with a thick aurlace, partly of a whitish and striped appearance. (Ailour rather dark. The dealer slated that hft bad showed us this oil only as a specimuii of adulterated oil, that bo kept it ouly as a sample, and thai be had only a small amount of it, Conseqnently he could only sell us such a Small sample. 

---