NZ: Fighting food fraud with forensics
A technique used by forensic scientists to identify bodies at crime scenes is being used by food producers to deter counterfeiting of their products.
All plants and animals absorb the natural chemicals of their environment, and similar technology can provide irrefutable forensic evidence of where an apple was grown. This evidence can be used to help combat misrepresentation of products in the market place, such as when inferior fruit is mislabeled as a premium brand.