A aplicação de multi-isótopos para controle de qualidade: ácido tartárico

Abstract

Natural substances are the basis of several types of industries. Elaborated from these substances, the natural products had a strong growth of its production on the last decade. Two factors can be detached as justification: change on the regulatory laws that demands proof of the natural origin of raw materials and increase on the consumer's demand for organic products. However, these products present high production costs and/or difficulty in obtaining them. Moreover, the synthetic chemical industry has innovated in its production processes and expanded the number of compounds with high similarity to natural ones. As a result, natural products are exposed to several types of fraud, such as: geographical origin, natural origin and the addition of non-noble substances. The globalization of the food market and the relative ease with which food is transported between countries and continents generate a concern in supervisory bodies to ensure the quality and safety of products that reach consumers. The use of analytical techniques is an effective option for monitoring. In the case of tartaric acid the physical-chemical properties of the natural and synthetic product are practically identical. The variation in the ratio of stable isotopes allows the investigation of the origin of this acid, since these data provide a profile of the samples. Measurements of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen isotopes provide information on geographical origin and production method. Thisarticle reviews the application of multi-isotopes in the emerging field of food forensics, focusing on the case of tartaric acid.