ABSTRACT
Food value chains from farm-to-fork entail complex webs of processes that are all risk points for fraudulent activities. These can involve the manipulation of food constituents by addition, removal, or replacement with cheaper but inferior alternatives for selfish gains. This threat to food safety has triggered diverse methods of detection for food quality assurance. This chapter aims to uncover innovative techniques currently being used to adulterate foods produced from plant products and to highlight some effective methods that have been used to combat them. Scientific journals (130) were thoroughly scrutinized and discussed to compare existing and emerging methods of food control. Clearly, food adulteration remains a challenge, but technological advancements have also enabled the development of rapid monitoring systems. Biosensor devices (electronic nose and the electronic tongue) were effective in detecting and predicting advanced adulterations in tea, wine, beer, honey, fruit juices, etc. Spectrometers (handheld and benchtop) have been prominent in the high-accuracy classification and prediction of new adulteration techniques in the mentioned beverages and many other food products including food powders (protein, tamarind, ginger, paprika, tomato, etc.). The adulterants detected ranged from less harmful (inferior food materials) to very hazardous (carcinogenic) ones. The emerging techniques are capable of rapid, high sensitivity, and waste-free analysis with cost efficiency. In combination with chemometrics, they can be applied to 294monitor food adulteration with no risk to the user. Cloud-based systems offer non-invasive online/onsite advantages for handheld spectrometers.
