Stable Isotope and Chemical Compositions of European and Australasian Ciders as a Guide to Authenticity

This paper presents a data set derived
from the analysis of bottled
and canned ciders that may be used for comparison with suspected counterfeit
or substitute products. Isotopic analysis of the solid residues from
ciders (predominantly sugar) provided a means to determine the addition
of C4 plant sugars. The added sugars were found to comprise
cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose, or combinations. The
majority of ciders from Australia and New Zealand were found to contain
significant amounts of added sugar, which provided a limited means
to distinguish these ciders from European ciders. The hydrogen and
oxygen isotopic compositions of the whole ciders (predominantly water)
were shown to be controlled by two factors, the water available to
the parent plant and evaporation. Analysis of data derived from both
isotopic and chemical analysis of ciders provided a means to discriminate
between regions and countries of manufacture.