Screening for Adulterants

Adulteration of foods and food ingredients has been a problem for centuries. Treatises on adulteration of food were published in England and the United States as far back as the early 19th century. Concern regarding the adulteration of food in the United States led to the passage of the Food and Drugs Act of 1906 and the eventual establishment of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Attention to the subject increased dramatically in 2007 and 2008 with the discovery of adulteration in Chin…