Carbon isotope evaluation of the claims in MillerCoors vs Anheuser-Busch

IF 2.6 3区医学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL

Forensic Chemistry Pub Date : 2024-07-14 DOI:10.1016/j.forc.2024.100598

Gwyneth W. Gordon

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Abstract

MillerCoors (MC) sued Anheuser-Busch (AB) over a 2019 advertising campaign emphasizing that Miller Lite and Coors Light beers are made with corn syrup. Because plants using the C4 photosynthetic pathway (corn, sugar cane, millet) are isotopically enriched in ¹³C, relative to ¹²C, in plants that use the C3 pathway (rice, barley, rye, wheat), carbon isotopes can provide relevant evidence. The plaintiff, MC, asserted 1) there is no corn syrup in the final product of Miller Lite or Coors Light; 2) they never use high fructose corn syrup (HFCS); 3) AB uses corn syrup as a fermentation aid in other products; and 4) AB adds HFCS to other product lines. I measured δ ¹³C_VPDB values for 27 beers, including the eight best-selling U.S. beers covering > 50% of the U.S. market. Miller Lite (−24.6 ‰) and Coors Light (−24.5 ‰) had 0–15% carbon from C4 sources, while Bud Light (−27.3 ‰), an AB product, had little to no C4 carbon. However, other AB products use more C4 carbon sources, including Bud Light Platinum (−22.0 ‰, 27 ±5% C4), Natural Light (−22.1 ‰, 26 ±5% C4), Category 5 Malt Hurricane (−21.1 ‰, 33 ±5% C4), Rolling Rock Extra Pale (−20.7 ‰, 37 ±5% C4), and Lime-A-Rita (−11.9 ‰, 98 ±4% C4). Corn syrup and HFCS were isotopically indistinguishable. This study supports claim 3, but cannot address claims 1, 2, and 4, highlighting both the utility and limitations of δ ¹³C measurements in ingredient identification in a civil case.

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对 MillerCoors 诉 Anheuser-Busch 案索赔的碳同位素评估

米勒公司（MillerCoors，简称 MC）起诉安海斯-布希公司（Anheuser-Busch，简称 AB），因为后者在 2019 年的广告宣传中强调，米勒淡啤酒和库尔斯淡啤酒是用玉米糖浆酿造的。由于使用 C4 光合途径的植物（玉米、甘蔗、小米）相对于使用 C3 途径的植物（水稻、大麦、黑麦、小麦）的 12C 而富含 13C，因此碳同位素可以提供相关证据。原告 MC 声称：1）米勒淡啤（Miller Lite）或库尔斯淡啤（Coors Light）的最终产品中没有玉米糖浆；2）它们从未使用过高果糖玉米糖浆（HFCS）；3）AB 公司在其他产品中使用玉米糖浆作为发酵辅助剂；4）AB 公司在其他产品系列中添加了 HFCS。我测量了 27 种啤酒的 δ 13CVPDB 值，其中包括八种最畅销的美国啤酒，占美国市场的 50%。Miller Lite（-24.6 ‰）和 Coors Light（-24.5 ‰）的 C4 碳含量为 0-15%，而 AB 产品 Bud Light（-27.3 ‰）的 C4 碳含量几乎为零。然而，其他 AB 类产品使用了更多的 C4 碳源，包括百威淡白金（-22.0 ‰，27 ±5% C4）、自然之光（-22.1 ‰，26 ±5% C4）、Category 5 Malt Hurricane（-21.1 ‰，33 ±5% C4）、Rolling Rock Extra Pale（-20.7 ‰，37 ±5% C4）和 Lime-A-Rita（-11.9 ‰，98 ±4% C4）。玉米糖浆和 HFCS 在同位素上没有区别。这项研究支持了权利要求 3，但无法解决权利要求 1、2 和 4，突出了 δ 13C 测量在民事案件成分鉴定中的实用性和局限性。

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来源期刊

Forensic Chemistry CHEMISTRY, ANALYTICAL-

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

14.80%

发文量

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Forensic Chemistry publishes high quality manuscripts focusing on the theory, research and application of any chemical science to forensic analysis. The scope of the journal includes fundamental advancements that result in a better understanding of the evidentiary significance derived from the physical and chemical analysis of materials. The scope of Forensic Chemistry will also include the application and or development of any molecular and atomic spectrochemical technique, electrochemical techniques, sensors, surface characterization techniques, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, chemometrics and statistics, and separation sciences (e.g. chromatography) that provide insight into the forensic analysis of materials. Evidential topics of interest to the journal include, but are not limited to, fingerprint analysis, drug analysis, ignitable liquid residue analysis, explosives detection and analysis, the characterization and comparison of trace evidence (glass, fibers, paints and polymers, tapes, soils and other materials), ink and paper analysis, gunshot residue analysis, synthetic pathways for drugs, toxicology and the analysis and chemistry associated with the components of fingermarks. The journal is particularly interested in receiving manuscripts that report advances in the forensic interpretation of chemical evidence. Technology Readiness Level: When submitting an article to Forensic Chemistry, all authors will be asked to self-assign a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to their article. The purpose of the TRL system is to help readers understand the level of maturity of an idea or method, to help track the evolution of readiness of a given technique or method, and to help filter published articles by the expected ease of implementation in an operation setting within a crime lab.