Authentication of Food and Wine

Book excerpt: Consumers, regulators, and the food industry increasingly require that foods comply not only with label descriptions of food content, but also with information regarding the food's origin. For example, the wine industry has a long history of labeling wines based on varietal, regional, or age (vintage)-related properties. However, regulatory agencies are now beginning to require methods to confirm this label information. Food retailers are also facing voluntary or mandatory labeling requirements that will indicate regional or country-of-origin, species and/or varietal information. As a result, development of reliable analytical methods to confirm the authenticity of the label information is needed. This book presents the latest research on food and wine authentication. The chapters are authored by leading international scientists whose research focuses on the development and application of analytical methodologies used for the authentication of food and beverages.