Pomegranate juice authenticity tested

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Nov. 30 (UPI) -- "Juice detectives" say they are testing if pomegranate juices are the real deal and not a mix of beet and apple juice or other juices.

Cynthia Larive, a chemist at University of California, Riverside, and colleagues are examining pomegranate juice samples in the laboratory.

The researchers are using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy to measure levels of small-molecule metabolites present in juices.

"We are measuring levels of unique compounds in pomegranate juice and are able to use this 'molecular fingerprint' to discriminate against adulterated juice products," Larive says in a statement.

The researchers say they use the molecular fingerprint to identify products claiming to contain pomegranate juice when they don't and products claiming to be pomegranate juice when they are not.

"We have received a collection of pomegranate samples from around the world, as well as commercial juices such as beet, grape, apple and pear -- to name just a few," Larive says.

Larive's work is funded by Pom Wonderful -- a company that grows and markets pomegranates and pomegranate-based products.