TWO DECADES OF FLAVOUR ANALYSIS: TRENDS REVEALED BY RADIOCARBON (~(14)C) AND STABLE ISOTOPE (δ~(13)C AND 5D) ANALYSIS R. A. Culp and J. E. Noakes Center for Applied Isotope Studies University of Georgia Athens, Georgia USA

摘要

Isotopic analysis for authenticity testing of food and flavouring products has been in use since the 1970s. Initially used to augment the classical chemical analyses, such as atomic absorption spectroscopy and gas chromatography, isotopic analysis has found its niche in the chemist's repertoire of analytical techniques. Most notably, radiocarbon (~(14)C) has been found to be the unequivocal determinant of fossil fuel derived carbon. Materials lacking proper apportionment of ~(14)C in their carbon chemistry are composed of some definable proportion of fossil fuel derived or synthetic carbon. To define the natural character of a product, or that portion not synthetically derived, a reference level of ~(14)C in modern botanically derived products must be accurately determined for comparison.