Food Fraud Flashcards
1
Q
What is food fraud?
A
A misrepresentation of food/drink pertaining to ingredients or provenance. This illegal deception is used for economic gain
2
Q
What does food fraud deception include?
A
- tampering: labelling, date codes, substituting ingredients
- adulteration: dilution, ingredient substitution, inclusion of impurities
- misrepresentation: of quality, point of origin
- counterfeiting: infringing on copyright or intellectual property
3
Q
How much does food fraud cost the industry?
A
$30-40 billion annually
4
Q
What are the advantages of ICP-MS? (6)
A
- multi elemental technique
- high sample output (4mins/sample)
- very low detection limited (ppt)
- large dynamic working range
- quantitative analysis
- can be coupled with other sample introduction systems (laser ablation)
5
Q
What are the disadvantages of ICP-MS? (5)
A
- some elements are difficult to measure (Br and Cl)
- sample must be in solution form
- sample matrix can be problematic (dissolution, matrix interferences)
- spectroscopic inferences are common
- requires complex statistics and thus expert knowledge to interpret the results
6
Q
What is plasma?
A
Highly energised gas that is ionised, making it behave as a collective
7
Q
What happens when a samples is introduced to plasma?
A
It is ionised and allows creation of a MS spectra of trace elements within a sample
8
Q
What is the process of ICP-MS?
A
- Sample introduction
- Ion formation
- Ion separation
- Ion detection
9
Q
ICP-MS sample prequirements
A
- must be in solution form
- further dilution might be necessary if already in so,union form
- sample digestion and dilution using appropriate reagents if not in solution form
- at least 3mL of solution isn’t required
