Importance of the Public Health Laboratory on the expert advice requested by the courts regarding foreign matter in food

Abstract

The Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL) conducts laboratorial researches concerning the production of early evidence driven by law-suit processes. This study reports an investigation for analyzing the suspected presence of broken glass in a red wine, referring to a law-suit of city of Ribeirão Preto region. In April 2013 a wine sample was sent to the Food Microscopy Laboratory of IAL-Ribeirão Preto to confirm the presence of a foreign body and their identification. Analyses were made by dissolving the sample and by examining under stereoscopic and optical microscopy. Dreg was found in the bottle neck, and sediments containing crystals of varied sizes and shapes were deposited on the bottom. These crystals were sent to the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at Medical School of Ribeirão Preto-USP for identifying and quantifying them through the scanning electron microscope JEOL JSM- 6610LV and EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy). Silica was not detected, and this finding ruled out the presence of broken glasses. Analysis of the found elements suggested the presence of calcium and potassium tartrate salts in this wine. Although these crystals are not harmful to human health, they might change the wine aspect and cause rejection by the consumers.