Gas Chromatography-Combustion-Isotope ratio mass spectrometry for traceability and authenticity in foods and beverages

As consumers demand more certainty over where their food and beverages originate from and the genuineness of ingredients, there is a need for analytical techniques that are able to provide data on issues such as traceability, authenticity, and origin of foods and beverages. One such technique that shows enormous promise in this area is gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). As will be demonstrated in this review, GC-C-IRMS is able to be applied to a wide array of foods and beverages generating data on key food components such as aroma compounds, sugars, amino acids, and carbon dioxide (in carbonated beverages). Such data can be used to determine synthetic and natural ingredients; substitution of 1 ingredient for another (such as apple for pear); the use of synthetic or organic fertilizers; and origin of foods and food ingredients, including carbon dioxide. Therefore, GC-C-IRMS is one of the most powerful techniques available to detect fraudulent, illegal, or unsafe practices in the food and beverages industries and its increasing use will ensure that consumers may have confidence in buying authentic products of known origin.