Identification of Age Anomalous Components of Food Commodities by Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) Analyses

Abstract

“Post-maximum-bomb” 14C activities (1964 to the present) provide a natural isotopic signature to obtain information on biomass source age in contemporary food preparations. An analysis of the 14C content in frozen orange juice-containing products purchased in 1996 suggested, in one case, an inferred growth period between 1992 and 1994 for oranges used in the preparation of this commodity. In another case, the 14C analysis indicated an inferred average growth period of 1988−90 for the organics in a “frozen concentrated enriched citrus beverage”. The presence of significant amounts of chemical additives obtained or synthesized from fossil carbon sources can also be documented by measuring 14C content. Keywords: Radiocarbon; carbon isotopes; orange juice; component age