Researchers in the Department of Food Science and the Department of Integrative Biology have made headlines with their new research into the detection of maple syrup fraud.  

Food science professor Dr. Maria G. Corradini along with Dr. Robert Hanner, Department of Integrative Biology, Maleeka Singh, a food science PhD candidate, and Sujani Rathnayake, a research assistant in the Hanner Lab, have contributed to the research. 

The team co-authored a commentary for The Conversation Canada detailing their work, and the article appeared in publications across the country, including on Yahoo! News Canada.

CTV Kitchener covered the research and the report was featured on CTV stations across the country. Corradini also spoke with CityNews in Toronto and several CBC Radio stations across the country about the research, including CBC KW. and CTV News Channel.

The team has been developing methods to use fluorescence fingerprinting to identify adulterated maple syrup. As certain molecules glow when exposed to UV and visible light, the team has created distinct fluorescence “fingerprints” to distinguish pure maple syrup from adulterated mixtures. 

Corradini researches the development of novel techniques to study the biophysical behaviour and stability of foods and holds the Arrell Chair in Food Quality.    

Hanner is a researcher with the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at U of G, specializing in the use of genetic methods to identify species and ways to detect food fraud.