Ham Jun-Hyeok, Lee Yeon-Jung, Lee Seung-Su, Kim Hae-Yeong
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Republic of Korea.
Foods. 2025 Apr 28;14(9):1548. doi: 10.3390/foods14091548.
Food fraud and adulteration have been persistent issues affecting food supply chains throughout history. They intensify in parallel with the continuous growth in the global food market. Plant-based proteins, which are recognized as sustainable alternatives, face increased food fraud risks because of disparities in the cost of raw materials and complex processing methods. Despite these challenges, most efforts toward preventing food fraud and developing detection technologies have largely focused on animal-based products, with limited attention given to plant-based proteins. This comprehensive review systematically examines the characteristics of major plant protein sources and explores documented instances of food fraud (e.g., ingredient substitution, adulteration with lower-cost alternatives, and mislabeling) within this sector. Furthermore, we discuss key analytical techniques in detecting food fraud, including chromatography, DNA analysis, spectroscopy, and imaging-based approaches, examining their applications and effectiveness. A systematic literature review was conducted using structured search strategies across Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed, covering publications from 2010 to 2025 and incorporating keywords related to plant-based proteins, food fraud, adulteration, and authentication, thereby ensuring methodological rigor and comprehensive coverage. This study provides a foundational framework to strengthen food fraud prevention strategies and uphold the integrity of the expanding plant-based protein market.
食品欺诈和掺假一直是影响食品供应链的长期问题，贯穿历史始终。它们随着全球食品市场的持续增长而加剧。植物性蛋白质被认为是可持续的替代品，但由于原材料成本的差异和复杂的加工方法，面临着更高的食品欺诈风险。尽管存在这些挑战，但大多数预防食品欺诈和开发检测技术的努力主要集中在动物性产品上，对植物性蛋白质的关注有限。这篇综述系统地研究了主要植物蛋白来源的特征，并探讨了该领域中已记录的食品欺诈案例（例如成分替代、用低成本替代品掺假和标签错误）。此外，我们讨论了检测食品欺诈的关键分析技术，包括色谱法、DNA分析、光谱学和基于成像的方法，考察了它们的应用和有效性。我们使用结构化搜索策略在Scopus、科学网和PubMed上进行了系统的文献综述，涵盖了2010年至2025年的出版物，并纳入了与植物性蛋白质、食品欺诈、掺假和认证相关的关键词，从而确保方法的严谨性和全面覆盖。本研究提供了一个基础框架，以加强食品欺诈预防策略，并维护不断扩大的植物性蛋白质市场的诚信。
