Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection Systems
Turmeric powder has gained widespread popularity due to its culinary and medicinal value and has become a target for economically motivated fraud. The history and exportation of turmeric in Africa were reviewed, and the safety issues of some toxic adulterants were discussed. Priority adulterants wer...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/9/1590 |
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| author | Wilfred Angie Abia Simon A. Haughey Radhika Radhika Brandy Perkwang Taty Heidi Russell Manus Carey Britt Marianna Maestroni Awanwee Petchkongkaew Christopher T. Elliott Paul N. Williams |
| author_facet | Wilfred Angie Abia Simon A. Haughey Radhika Radhika Brandy Perkwang Taty Heidi Russell Manus Carey Britt Marianna Maestroni Awanwee Petchkongkaew Christopher T. Elliott Paul N. Williams |
| author_sort | Wilfred Angie Abia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Turmeric powder has gained widespread popularity due to its culinary and medicinal value and has become a target for economically motivated fraud. The history and exportation of turmeric in Africa were reviewed, and the safety issues of some toxic adulterants were discussed. Priority adulterants were determined from global food safety alerts. A systematic bibliographic search on Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science was performed to identify appropriate methods and techniques for authentication and safety. The quality of each study was assessed according to PRISMA guidelines/protocol. African turmeric exportation is on the rise due to recent insights into the suitability of local cultivars, soil and climate for growing high-quality turmeric, with curcumin levels >3%. There are limited data on turmeric adulteration for domestic consumption and export markets. This is important when considering that some turmeric adulterants may serve as risk factors for cancer following exposure. Global alert databases revealed lead chromate as the top hazard identified of all adulterants. Current techniques to detect adulterants are laboratory-based, and while efficient, there is a need for more rapid, field-friendly, non-destructive analytical tools for turmeric fraud/authenticity testing. This enables on-the-spot decision-making to inform rapid alerts. Portable technologies, such as portable X-ray fluorescence, were highlighted as showing potential as a Tier 1 screening tool within a “Food Fortress” systems approach for food safety, combined with validation from mass spectrometry-based Tier 2 testing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-49f9ba8d6db540098d9cb8acec7acc3d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-49f9ba8d6db540098d9cb8acec7acc3d2025-08-20T02:59:08ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-04-01149159010.3390/foods14091590Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection SystemsWilfred Angie Abia0Simon A. Haughey1Radhika Radhika2Brandy Perkwang Taty3Heidi Russell4Manus Carey5Britt Marianna Maestroni6Awanwee Petchkongkaew7Christopher T. Elliott8Paul N. Williams9Institute for Global Food Security, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UKInstitute for Global Food Security, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UKInstitute for Global Food Security, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UKDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde 1, Yaounde BP 812, CameroonInstitute for Global Food Security, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UKInstitute for Global Food Security, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UKFood Safety and Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, AustriaInternational Joint Research Centre on Food Security (IJC-FOODSEC), 113 Thailand Science Park, Phahonyothin Road, Khong Luang 12120, Pathum Thani, ThailandInstitute for Global Food Security, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UKInstitute for Global Food Security, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5DL, Northern Ireland, UKTurmeric powder has gained widespread popularity due to its culinary and medicinal value and has become a target for economically motivated fraud. The history and exportation of turmeric in Africa were reviewed, and the safety issues of some toxic adulterants were discussed. Priority adulterants were determined from global food safety alerts. A systematic bibliographic search on Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science was performed to identify appropriate methods and techniques for authentication and safety. The quality of each study was assessed according to PRISMA guidelines/protocol. African turmeric exportation is on the rise due to recent insights into the suitability of local cultivars, soil and climate for growing high-quality turmeric, with curcumin levels >3%. There are limited data on turmeric adulteration for domestic consumption and export markets. This is important when considering that some turmeric adulterants may serve as risk factors for cancer following exposure. Global alert databases revealed lead chromate as the top hazard identified of all adulterants. Current techniques to detect adulterants are laboratory-based, and while efficient, there is a need for more rapid, field-friendly, non-destructive analytical tools for turmeric fraud/authenticity testing. This enables on-the-spot decision-making to inform rapid alerts. Portable technologies, such as portable X-ray fluorescence, were highlighted as showing potential as a Tier 1 screening tool within a “Food Fortress” systems approach for food safety, combined with validation from mass spectrometry-based Tier 2 testing.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/9/1590Africaadulteration<i>Turmeric</i>exposurefraud detectionportable X-ray fluorescence |
| spellingShingle | Wilfred Angie Abia Simon A. Haughey Radhika Radhika Brandy Perkwang Taty Heidi Russell Manus Carey Britt Marianna Maestroni Awanwee Petchkongkaew Christopher T. Elliott Paul N. Williams Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection Systems Foods Africa adulteration <i>Turmeric</i> exposure fraud detection portable X-ray fluorescence |
| title | Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection Systems |
| title_full | Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection Systems |
| title_fullStr | Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection Systems |
| title_short | Africa, an Emerging Exporter of Turmeric: Combating Fraud with Rapid Detection Systems |
| title_sort | africa an emerging exporter of turmeric combating fraud with rapid detection systems |
| topic | Africa adulteration <i>Turmeric</i> exposure fraud detection portable X-ray fluorescence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/9/1590 |
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