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Journal ArticleDOI

Determination of stable isotope ratios in food analysis.

01 Jan 2001-Food Reviews International (Taylor & Francis Group)-Vol. 17, Iss: 3, pp 347-381
TL;DR: The development of the stable isotope analysis has gained increasing importance in authenticity control of food and food ingredients as mentioned in this paper, and the progress in instrumentation during the last few decades is described.
Abstract: Within the last few years, stable isotope analysis has gained increasing importance in authenticity control of food and food ingredients. The development of the methodology from its start in the geological sciences is reviewed, the requirements and the specific features of the technique in the area of food quality assessment are outlined, and the progress in instrumentation during the last few decades is described. Scope and limits of the analysis of stable isotope ratios to assess the quality and to determine the origin are demonstrated for foods, such as fruit juice, wine, spirits, or beer. The classical approaches investigating hydrogen, carbon and oxygen isotopes as well as strategies including elements, such as nitrogen and sulfur, are reviewed. The present state of the art and future possibilities of the methodology are discussed.
Citations
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01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition and found that the variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different individuals raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets.
Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

5,548 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A growing number of research articles have been published in the last 5 years detailing the use of natural abundance isotope variation and elemental concentrations as geographic 'tracers' to determine the provenance of food as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The globalisation of food markets and the relative ease with which food commodities are transported through and between countries and continents, means that consumers are increasingly concerned about the origin of the foods they eat. A growing number of research articles have been published in the last 5 years detailing the use of natural abundance isotope variation and elemental concentrations as geographic ‘tracers’ to determine the provenance of food. These investigations exploit the systematic global variations of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in combination with elemental concentrations, including heavy isotope variations (e.g. strontium-87) and other biogeochemical indicators. This article reviews the developments in the application of multi-isotopic and multi-element methods in the emerging field of ‘Food Forensics’.

673 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an investigation of the current analytical techniques that are being used for the determination of the geographical origin of food products is presented. The analytical approaches have been subdivided into four groups; mass spectrometry techniques, spectroscopic techniques, separation techniques, and other techniques.

468 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Isoscape models of varying quality are available for stable H, C, N, and O isotopes in a range of Earth surface systems, but significant opportunities exist to refine our understanding of biogeochemical cycles and our ability to predict isoscapes through the development of more mechanistic and more comprehensive isoscape model as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Isotope ratios of actively cycled elements vary as a function of the biogeochemical processes in which they participate and the conditions under which those processes occur. The resultant spatiotemporal distribution of isotopes in environmental materials can be predicted using models of isotopefractionating processes and data describing environmental conditions across space and time, and it has been termed an isoscape, or isotopic landscape. Analysis of isoscapes and comparison of isoscape predictions with observational data have been used to test biogeochemical models, calculate aerially integrated biogeochemical fluxes based on isotope mass balance, and determine spatial connectivity in biogeochemical, ecological, and anthropological systems. Isoscape models of varying quality are available for stable H, C, N, and O isotopes in a range of Earth surface systems, but significant opportunities exist to refine our understanding of biogeochemical cycles and our ability to predict isoscapes through the development of more mechanistic and more comprehensive isoscape models.

416 citations


Cites background from "Determination of stable isotope rat..."

  • ...…from plant products have been explicitly modeled within a geographic context, there are a large number of related, emerging applications involving plant- and animal-derived food products that are well suited to this type of analysis (Rossmann 2001). www.annualreviews.org • Isoscapes 173 A nn u....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This introductory overview of food adulteration and contamination practices is hoped that it acts as a springboard for researchers in science, technology, engineering, and industry, in this era of systems-level thinking and interdisciplinary approaches to new and contemporary problems.
Abstract: Major food adulteration and contamination events seem to occur with some regularity, such as the widely publicised adulteration of milk products with melamine and the recent microbial contamination of vegetables across Europe for example. With globalisation and rapid distribution systems, these can have international impacts with far-reaching and sometimes lethal consequences. These events, though potentially global in the modern era, are in fact far from contemporary, and deliberate adulteration of food products is probably as old as the food processing and production systems themselves. This review first introduces some background into these practices, both historically and contemporary, before introducing a range of the technologies currently available for the detection of food adulteration and contamination. These methods include the vibrational spectroscopies: near-infrared, mid-infrared, Raman; NMR spectroscopy, as well as a range of mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, amongst others. This subject area is particularly relevant at this time, as it not only concerns the continuous engagement with food adulterers, but also more recent issues such as food security, bioterrorism and climate change. It is hoped that this introductory overview acts as a springboard for researchers in science, technology, engineering, and industry, in this era of systems-level thinking and interdisciplinary approaches to new and contemporary problems.

324 citations

References
More filters
01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition and found that the variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different individuals raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets.
Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition. The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet. The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources. The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.

5,548 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Masao Minagawa1, Eitaro Wada1
TL;DR: The isotopic composition of nitrogen was measured in marine and fresh-water animals from the East China Sea, The Bering Sea, Lake Ashinoko and Usujiri intertidal zone as mentioned in this paper.

4,020 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the temperature variation of the fractionation of oxygen in exchange reactions between dissolved carbonate and water and between calcite and water was calculated on theoretical grounds, and checked experimentally.
Abstract: The temperature variation of the fractionation of oxygen in exchange reactions between dissolved carbonate and water and between calcite and water and calculated on theoretical grounds, and checked experimentally. In the course of the experiments it was necessary to investigate several methods of decomposing calcium carbonate to carbon dioxide for mass spectrometer analysis. A method was developed for growing calcium carbonate from solution with the same isotopic composition as the carbonate shells of organisms produced at the same temperature from water of the same isotopic composition, and the results of these experiments at various temperatures are expressed in an equation relating the temperature of formation with the isotopic composition of the calcium carbonate and of the water.

3,579 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A number of marine water and fresh water samples were examined for the relative O18O16 ratio, and the variation of this ratio was determined to a precision of ± 1% as mentioned in this paper.

3,113 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A survey of the variation of the ratio C13/C12 in nature can be found in this paper, where Urey and his co-workers used two complete feed systems with magnetic switching to determine small differences in isotope ratios between samples and a standard gas.

1,779 citations