Booklist Review
Biogeochemistry professor Evershed and conservationist Temple take up the daunting subject of food fraud, an increasingly problematic issue compounded by the global nature of our food supply chains. From vegetable oil to beef, honey, spices, and fish (the most rampantly fraudulent single item), Evershed and Temple reveal the many ways food fraud occurs: sometimes from innocent motives, like repurposing old food to avoid waste; sometimes from more sinister objectives, like deliberately creating a synthetic product, as in the baby-formula scandal in China in 2004. Research is nicely contextualized with historical instances of fraud, as Evershed and Temple evaluate how government and nonprofit organizations are working to detect the problem and deter it. Science plays a big role in this field; the authors detail the incredible way DNA testing can be used to verify food authenticity and the molecular breakdown of foods and their substitutes this, as well as frequent statistics, gives their narrative a fact- and number-heavy feel, despite fairly streamlined explanations. Still, those interested in muckraking journalism, food science, and environmental conservation won't be dissuaded from reading this account.--Grant, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist
Choice Review
As hackers corrupt computers, food fraudsters repeatedly seek a quick profit by adulterating food. Evershed (biogeochemistry, Univ. of Bristol, UK) and Temple (biologist, conservationist, and science writer) assemble a detailed compendium of the myriad devious recipes employed by the schemers within the food industry. With the global economy and the increasing population, inexpensive food is wanted; however, food supplies travel between continents and countries containing various additives from different sources. The authors detail the multiple strategies utilized to dilute and disguise original food, as well as the chemical processes used to detect ersatz foods. The authors discuss the catastrophic results in China when melamine was added in milk, which not only poisoned and sickened consumers but then went "viral," as it was added to processed foods that were shipped worldwide from China. Furthermore, the authors explain how milk products, seafood, wines, oils, spices, honey, grains, etc., are manipulated, and how food scientists and government agencies seek to check the assault on food products. Due to this unceasing struggle, the authors suggest that individuals either produce their own food or shop at local markets where the quality of the produce is evident. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Rita A. Hoots, Sacramento City College
