T03_P15

Radiocarbon based fossil component analysis of food products

Varga T¹, Molnár M¹

¹ELKH - Institute for Nuclear Research - INTERACT, Debrecen, Hungary

The accelerator mass spectrometry and radiocarbon based bio and fossil component ratio analysis is widely used for plastic and fuel materials, but it is not frequently used for food products. Several materials, what are generally used in the food industry, can contain fossil carbon like the food coloring, flavouring and sweetener materials, due to the cost effective production. In general, the molecular composition of these materials are the same compared to the biol-based ones. In this case, the radiocarbon based analysis is one of the best way to distinguish the biological and fossil sources in these products. In this study, we present our ¹⁴C based fossil component analysis results on commercial food products and  raw materials. The results show that several food and drink can contain more than a few percent fossil carbon, but generally, most of the food products are 100 % bio-based. The highest fossil component ratio was determined in the food coloring materials.