Identification of age anomalous components of food commodities by radiocarbon (C-14) analyses

摘要

"Post-maximum-bomb'' C-14 activities (1964 to the present) provide a natural isotopic signature to obtain information on biomass source age in contemporary food preparations. An analysis of the C-14 content in frozen orange juice-containing products purchased in 1996 suggested, in one case, an inferred growth period between 1992 and 1994 for oranges used in the preparation of this commodity. In another case, the C-14 analysis indicated an inferred average growth period of 1988-90 for the organics in a "frozen concentrated enriched citrus beverage". The presence of significant amounts of chemical additives obtained or synthesized from fossil carbon sources can also be documented by measuring C-14 content. [References: 24]