Food Forensic Investigation

This chapter provides an introduction to the craft of food forensic investigation, which is described as a logical process for the investigation of root causes for a product that is perceived to be physically objectionable to a customer or consumer because it may have an off-odor/taint, have been contaminated by foreign material during processing or at some later time, or have been intentionally tampered with by an outside party. Products under these circumstances must be analyzed from a perspective different than simply understanding the quality or composition of a product. Food forensic tools and experienced personnel are critical to determine the root cause of both product failures and food tampering. When a product is reported with a problem, it is important to follow codified standard operation procedures to analyze the product to identify what the problem is, where and when it occurred in the supply chain, and how it occurred, so corrective action can be taken. Various specialized nondestructive and destructive techniques (e.g., microscopy, chemical spectroscopy/spectrometry, X-ray microtomography, X-ray diffraction, microchemistry) are critical to investigate such problems of foreign matter contamination. Sensitive instrumental techniques and simple sensory evaluation are critical to identify contaminants causing off-flavors/odors and taints. This chapter on food forensic investigations is intended to compliment both Chap. 33 on chemical contamination and Chap. 34 on extraneous matter.