Donata Bandoniene

Suitability of elemental fingerprinting for assessing the geographic origin of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca) seed oil

An analytical method was developed and validated for the classification of the geographical origin of pumpkin seeds and oil from Austria, China and Russia. The distribution of element traces in pumpkin seed and pumpkin seed oils in relation to the geographical origin of soils of several agricultural farms in Austria was studied in detail. Samples from several geographic origins were taken from parts of the pumpkin, pumpkin flesh, seeds, the oil extracted from the seeds and the oil-extraction cake as well as the topsoil on which the plants were grown. Plants from different geographical origin show variations of the elemental patterns that are significantly large, reproducible over the years and ripeness period and show no significant influence of oil production procedure, to allow to a discrimination of geographical origin. A successful differentiation of oils from different regions in Austria, China and Russia classified with multivariate data analysis is demonstrated.

A tool to assure the geographical origin of local food products (glasshouse tomatoes) using labeling with rare earth elements: A tool to assure the geographical origin of local food products

Abstract BACKGROUND Trace element fingerprinting has been widely used for identification of provenance of regional food. In the case of products from conventional agriculture, it is expected that the elemental composition will comply with that of the commercially available substrate of the plants. Therefore, for products without a direct relationship with the regional soil the region‐specific differences in elemental composition are no longer recognizable. The idea of this work is the labeling of tomatoes with rare earth elements (REE) in the ultra‐trace range for food authentication. RESULTS Labeling of tomatoes was carried out either by watering the soil with Nd‐ and Er‐spiked water or by adding these elements as solid oxides to the soil. In both cases enrichment of Nd and Er relative to the control group was detected in tomato fruits and leaves using inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. Tomato plants rapidly absorb the dissolved REE from the irrigation water, and watering for a short period just before ripeness is sufficient to induce REE labels. CONCLUSION Labeling with trace amounts of REE could potentially be used to assure the provenance of tomatoes of local origin and separate these from products of foreign origin.

Rare Earth Element Labeling as a Tool for Assuring the Origin of Eggs and Poultry Products

Laying hens were fed terbium and thulium supplemented feed in order to introduce a distinctive rare earth element pattern that allows discrimination of labeled from unlabeled poultry products. Samples of egg yolk, egg shells, meat, bones, liver, blood, and feces were analyzed using either conventional or laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Already after a short time of administering supplemented feed, terbium and thulium enrichment could be unambiguously detected in the products, while absolute terbium and thulium contents remained low enough to ensure safety for the customer. This method could potentially be applied to specifically label foodstuffs produced in certain regions or under certain conditions, in order to ensure food authenticity.