Quality and authenticity control of fruit purées, fruit preparations and jams—a review

Adulteration of foods is a serious economic problem concerning most food commodities, in particular fruit products. Since high-priced fruits command premium prices, producers of fruit-based products such as juices, jams, jellies, purees, and fruit preparations might be tempted to blend these products with cheaper fruits. In addition to admixtures of adulterants, the labelled fruit contents may not be met. Both types of adulteration are difficult to detect and lead to a deterioration of product quality. For consumer protection and to avoid unfair competition, it is of essential importance to guarantee both authenticity and compliance with the product specification. While approaches for the detection of fraudulent admixtures to fruit juices have extensively been reviewed, the objective of the present treatise is to provide an overview of the approaches so far suggested to detect and even quantify adulterations of the above-mentioned fruit products.