DailyDirt: Food Forensics For Fighting Fraud
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
The global food supply chain generally delivers products that are safe to drink and eat, but every so often there are some stories about unscrupulous distributors who try to sell knockoff items that aren't exactly what they say they are. The infamous 2008 scandal in China is probably the scariest example where melamine was added to infant formula to make it look like the milk had a higher protein content. Less dangerous tricks involve deceptive food labeling practices, and it can be extremely difficult to detect food fraud when it's not so egregious. Here are just a few links on identifying authentic foods.- Olive oil from Italy might not be as virgin as you might think. One estimate says 69% of olive oil sold in the US may be doctored -- diluted with cheaper oils or otherwise adulterated. [url]
- Natural organic flavorings (eg. vanilla, cinnamon oil, anise oil) can be more expensive than chemically synthesized additives, but it's usually not that hard to tell the difference. Natural oils contain ambient levels of carbon-14 atoms, whereas artificial flavorings made from petroleum distillates contain no trace amounts of this radioactive isotope of carbon. [url]
- If you drink bottled water that says the water is straight from a natural spring, how does anyone really know if they didn't just filter some tap water and bottle it? The isotopic composition of water can indicate the authenticity, but how often do you test your hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios.... [url]
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: artificial flavoring, authenticity, bottled water, c14, evoo, food, melamine, natural flavorings, olive oil, radioisotopes, tap water, vanilla, water
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Water
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
You Big Mac is made of industrial waste, and tastes the same all over the world.
So does Marlboro.
Why? Because of chemical magic that comes from the very SAME production line of International Food and Fragrances in New Jersey.
Memba Pink Slime?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
WTF did I do with my ambient radiation tester?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This is why we need labeling laws passed, Knowing Is half the battle
{Insert The More You Know Jingle Here}
[ link to this | view in thread ]
So the dirty slut cheated on Popeye? I'll bet it was with Bluto!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That is purely a marketing name. There is an Angus breed, which came the Angus region, but that has little to do with the name. Pay the trademark holder money and you can use the name on just about any meat product.
Several contaminated hamburger recalls involved products with name such as "American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties" and "Range Fed Angus Beef Burgers".
The big 2007 hamburger recall resulted in a USDA investigation, and FOIA requests by the New York Times revealed what those products are. If there is any Angus breed beef in the burgers, it's a coincidence. The 'America's Chef' product come from at least four different facilities. It was mostly 'retired' dairy cattle, with fat from trimmings of better cuts and ammonia treated carcass scrapings (pink slime). It took weeks to track down where the various sources for a single batch of hamburger.
But back to the real point: if it says "Angus", it's probably the lowest grade meat product with a marketing spin.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Bluto !
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
I believe you because I have heard this from a butcher friend of mine, but it is not only bullshit, but cowshit as well! Where is the consumer protection in that?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Truffle Oil
[ link to this | view in thread ]