IDENTIFICATION OF AGE ANOMALOUS COMPONENTS OF FOOD COMMODITIES BY RADIOCARBON (C-14) ANALYSES

''Post-maximum-bomb'' C-14 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 C-14 content in frozen orange juice-containing products purchased in 1996 suggested, in one case, an inferred growth period between 1992 and 1994 for orang es used in the preparation of this commodity. In another case, the C-1 4 analysis indicated an inferred average growth period of 1988-90 for the organics in a ''frozen concentrated enriched citrus beverage''. Th e presence of significant amounts of chemical additives obtained or sy nthesized from fossil carbon sources can also be documented by measuri ng C-14 content.