Sorting the Beef from the Bull: The Science of Food Fraud Forensics

Horsemeat in our burgers, melamine in our infant’s milk, artificial colours in our fish and fruit … as our urban lifestyle takes us further and further away from our food sources, there are increasing opportunities for dishonesty, duplicity and profit-making short-cuts. Food adulteration, motivated by money, is an issue that has spanned the globe throughout human history. Whether it’s a matter of making a good quality oil stretch a bit further by adding a little extra ‘something’ or labelling a food falsely to appeal to current consumer trends – it’s all food fraud, and it costs the food industry billions of dollars each year. The price to consumers may be even higher, with some paying for these crimes with their health and, in some cases, their lives. So how do we sort the beef from the bull (or horse, as the case may be)?

This book explains the scientific tools and techniques that revealed the century’s biggest food fraud scams. It looks in detail at the biggest scams in recent times; drawing on the lead author’s extensive experience at the forefront of the fight against these fraudsters, it goes on to explore the arms-race between scientists and adulterers as better techniques for detection spur more creative and sophisticated means of adulteration. Finally, it looks at the up-and-coming techniques and devices that will help the industry and consumers fight food fraud in the future.

Engagingly written by Richard Evershed and Nicola Temple, this book lifts the lid on the forensics involved, and brings the full story of a fascinating and under-reported applied science to light.

Introduction: Fraud 101
1: A creaminal record
2: What’s your beef?
3: A slippery deal
4: FINgerprinting
5: Hummuside
6: White collard crimes
7: The future of fruit forensics
8: Sniffing out crime
9: Prevention and personal safetea

Richard Evershed FRS is Professor of Biogeochemistry at the University of Bristol. His thirty-year career has seen tremendous changes in the world of analytical chemistry. Initially, Evershed’s work focused on chromatographic and mass spectrometry studies, especially in archaeology, an area he continues to research; the methodologies he pioneered have been used in several other areas, notably in detecting food fraud, where his team developed methods for detecting the highly lucrative but dangerous and illegal adulteration of vegetable oil. His methods have even been used in tandem with the Metropolitan Police to help in murder investigations.

Nicola Temple is a biologist, conservationist and science writer. Her writing has taken her from the precipices of volcanoes in Ethiopia to the banks of salmon streams in Canada's temperate rainforest. Based in Bristol, Nicola works with universities, research councils and individuals to develop engaging science stories on how research has an impact beyond the closeted world of academia.
nicolatemple.com / @nicolatemple