Counterfeiting

Just like pharmaceuticals, banknotes and alcoholic beverages, the crop seeds sold to farmers are frequently counterfeits. MIT scientists have devised a method of spotting the fakes, by tagging genuine seeds with silk dots.

Candy sprinkles may make desserts more interesting, but a scientist has developed what could be a much more valuable use for them. His CandyCode system might one day be utilized to confirm that supposedly authentic pills aren't actually counterfeits.

When it comes to the printing of items such as bank notes or passports, you want to use a technique that isn't easy to replicate. Swiss scientists have developed just such a technology, which prints by taking material away instead of depositing it.

Although an increasing number of countries are switching to sturdier, harder-to-copy polymer banknotes, the things still are being counterfeited. A new technology could help weed those fakes out, by taking their fingerprints.

Most of today's anti-counterfeiting labels have one thing in common: they're visible, meaning that counterfeiters can attempt to replicate their appearance. An experimental new sticker, however, contains "invisible" imagery.

Scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a new anti-counterfeiting technology based on Physically Unclonable Function patterns they say can better ensure the authenticity of high-value products.

Researchers have developed a kind of electronic “invisible ink” that can alert users to unauthorized tampering with a device. When the chip is exposed to light it will erase information printed on it, making it clear that someone’s opened the box.

A team of scientists at the University of St Andrews has developed a laser spectroscopy technique that can determine the authenticity of expensive vintage whiskey without having to open the bottle to retrieve a sample for analysis.

Scientists at Purdue University have come up with en edible security tag that can be integrated into medicine and emit distinctive light patterns when exposed to LED lights as a way to guarantee its safety and authenticity.

As is the case with items that are manufactured in more traditional manners, it's certainly possible for 3D-printed products to be counterfeited. A new system could help identify such bogus goods, by printing a unique code right into objects.

A tiny artificial tongue which can identify individual whiskies by taste has been invented by a team of Scottish engineers . The device could mean big things for drink makers wanting to ensure a consistent product, and protect their precious brands from counterfeiters at the same time.

​In the developing world, about 10 percent of medications are actually inferior counterfeits of the real thing. Unfortunately, these same regions often lack the equipment needed for detecting those fakes. An inexpensive new system, however, could remedy that problem.