Role of Lanthanides in the Traceability of the Milk Production Chain

A synergistic solution for fighting fraudulent practices in squid using light stable isotope ratios and lanthanide tracers

To identify a novel optimized strategy for preventing fraudulent substitutions of squid species and origins, forty European squids (Loligo vulgaris) and forty flying squids (Todarodes sagittatus) from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean were analyzed for δ13C, δ15N, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, and Lu using isotope ratio mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. While δ13C and δ15N variations were mainly species-related, they alone could not reliably distinguish samples. To address this issue, decision rules were developed using Classification and Regression Tree analysis. Threshold values for δ13C (-19.91‰), δ15N (14.87‰), and Pr (0.49 μg kg-1) enabled successful discrimination among Mediterranean European squids, Atlantic European squids, Mediterranean flying squids, and Atlantic flying squids, achieving over 90% accuracy, 81% precision, 80% sensitivity, and 93% specificity. This method holds promise for enhancing traceability and safety in the seafood industry, ensuring product integrity and consumer trust.

Elemental Fingerprinting of Pecorino Romano and Pecorino Sardo PDO: Characterization, Authentication and Nutritional Value

Sardinia, located in Italy, is a significant producer of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) sheep cheeses. In response to the growing demand for high-quality, safe, and traceable food products, the elemental fingerprints of Pecorino Romano PDO and Pecorino Sardo PDO were determined on 200 samples of cheese using validated, inductively coupled plasma methods. The aim of this study was to collect data for food authentication studies, evaluate nutritional and safety aspects, and verify the influence of cheesemaking technology and seasonality on elemental fingerprints. According to European regulations, one 100 g serving of both cheeses provides over 30% of the recommended dietary allowance for calcium, sodium, zinc, selenium, and phosphorus, and over 15% of the recommended dietary intake for copper and magnesium. Toxic elements, such as Cd, As, Hg, and Pb, were frequently not quantified or measured at concentrations of toxicological interest. Linear discriminant analysis was used to discriminate between the two types of pecorino cheese with an accuracy of over 95%. The cheese-making process affects the elemental fingerprint, which can be used for authentication purposes. Seasonal variations in several elements have been observed and discussed.

On the Traceability of Honey by Means of Lanthanide Distribution

Honey is a natural food appreciated all over the world since antiquity due to its well-recognised beneficial properties. However, it is also considered among the most counterfeited foods. Therefore, analytical methods are currently being developed to allow the verifying of its geographic provenance and its botanical origin. Trace- and ultra-trace elements are usually exploited as chemical descriptors in authentication studies, as they allow the properties declared in the label to be verified. A different matter is to trace a food by means of traceability, that is, to find the link between a food and the soil in which this food originates. For traceability, it has been demonstrated in several studies that the lanthanides are particularly useful to find this link. In the present study, the traceability of the honey chain has been studied by means of ICP-MS and ICP-OES analysis, by comparing the lanthanide distributions of 17 different monofloral honey chains, each one composed of honey, flowers and soil in which such flowers grew. The results show that, while the fingerprint of soil, described by the lanthanide distribution, is transmitted unaltered from soil to flowers, a slight fractionation on the heavier lanthanides (from Dy to Lu) occurs in the passage from flowers to honey.

Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), a Useful Tool in Authenticity of Agricultural Products' and Foods' Origin

Fraudulent practices are the first and foremost concern of food industry, with significant consequences in economy and human's health. The increasing demand for food has led to food fraud by replacing, mixing, blending, and mislabeling products attempting to increase the profits of producers and companies. Consequently, there was the rise of a multidisciplinary field which encompasses a large number of analytical techniques aiming to trace and authenticate the origins of agricultural products, food and beverages. Among the analytical strategies have been developed for the authentication of geographical origin of foodstuff, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) increasingly dominates the field as a robust, accurate, and highly sensitive technique for determining the inorganic elements in food substances. Inorganic elements are well known for evaluating the nutritional composition of food products while it has been shown that they are considered as possible tracers for authenticating the geographical origin. This is based on the fact that the inorganic component of identical food type originating from different territories varies due to the diversity of matrix composition. The present systematic literature review focusing on gathering the research has been done up-to-date on authenticating the geographical origin of agricultural products and foods by utilizing the ICP-MS technique. The first part of the article is a tutorial about food safety/control and the fundaments of ICP-MS technique, while in the second part the total research review is discussed.

On the Traceability of the Hazelnut Production Chain by Means of Trace Elements

The production chain of hazelnuts has been studied by analyzing three sets of samples produced in purity from three different pools of hazelnuts of cultivar “Tonda Gentile Trilobata”, “Tonda Gentile Romana” and “Mortarella”, all cultivated in Italy. From each pool, five processed products were obtained: roasted hazelnuts, hazelnut paste, hazelnut cream, Gianduja paste and Gianduiotto paste. After pre-treatment by means of dry ashing, all samples from each cultivar, including raw hazelnuts, were then analyzed by means of Inductively Coupled Plasma–Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). A good discrimination was obtained among the different chain stages according to the distribution of the trace elements, as expected. More interesting was the discrimination among the different cultivars: it was possible to distinguish the samples produced from the respective cultivar by means of specific chemical markers, particularly Mo and Ni.

Authentication and Traceability Study on Barbera d’Asti and Nizza DOCG Wines: The Role of Trace- and Ultra-Trace Elements

Barbera d’Asti—including Barbera d’Asti superiore—and Nizza are two DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) wines produced in Piemonte (Italy) from the Barbera grape variety. Differences among them arise in the production specifications in terms of purity, ageing, and zone of production, in particular with concern to Nizza, which follows the most stringent rules, sells at three times the average price, and is considered to have the highest market value. To guarantee producers and consumers, authentication methods must be developed in order to distinguish among the different wines. As the production zones totally overlap, it is important to verify whether the distinction is possible or not according to metals content, or whether chemical markers more linked to winemaking are needed. In this work, Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) elemental analysis and multivariate data analysis are used to study the authentication and traceability of samples from the three designations of 2015 vintage. The results show that, as far as elemental distribution in wine is concerned, work in the cellar, rather than geographic provenance, is crucial for the possibility of distinction.

Geographical origin and botanical type honey authentication through elemental metabolomics via chemometrics

The trace and rare earth elements content of 93 honeys of different botanical type and origin have been studied through ICP-MS. Discriminant Analysis (DA) was successful for botanical type and geographical origin classification while Cluster Analysis (CA) was successful only for botanical type. Through Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) analysis, 85.3% were correctly classified by the network according to their geographical origin and 73.3% according to their organic characterization. A Partial Least Squares (PLS) model was constructed, giving a prediction accuracy of more than 95%. Information obtained using Rare Earths (Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) and trace elements (Li, Mg, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, Sr, Ba, Pb) via chemometric evaluation facilitated classification of honey samples.

Rare earth elements (REE) in biology and medicine

This survey reports on topics that were presented at the workshop on “Challenges with Rare Earth Elements. The Periodic Table at work for new Science & Technology” hold at the Academia dei Lincei in November 2019. The herein reported materials refer to presentations dealing with studies and applications of rare earth elements (REE) in several areas of Biology and Medicine. All together they show the tremendous impact REE have in relevant fields of living systems and highlight, on one hand, the still existing knowledge gap for an in-depth understanding of their function in natural systems as well as the very important role they already have in providing innovative scientific and technological solutions in a number of bio-medical areas and in fields related to the assessment of the origin of food and on their manufacturing processes. On the basis of the to-date achievements one expects that new initiatives will bring, in a not too far future, to a dramatic increase of our understanding of the REE involvement in living organisms as well as a ramp-up in the exploitation of the peculiar properties of REE for the design of novel applications in diagnostic procedures and in the set-up of powerful medical devices. This scenario calls the governmental authorities for new responsibilities to guarantee a continuous availability of REE to industry and research labs together with providing support to activities devoted to their recovery/recycling.

Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of Changes during Food Storage and Processing

Many physicochemical changes occur during food storage and processing, such as rancidity, hydrolysis, oxidation, and aging, which may alter the taste, flavor, and texture of food products and pose risks to public health. Analysis of these changes has become of great interest to many researchers. Mass spectrometry is a promising technique for the study of food and nutrition domains as a result of its excellent ability in molecular profiling, food authentication, and marker detection. In this review, we summarized recent advances in mass spectrometry techniques and their applications in food storage and processing. Furthermore, current technical challenges associated with these methodologies were discussed.

Greek Graviera Cheese Assessment through Elemental Metabolomics-Implications for Authentication, Safety and Nutrition

This study presents the comprehensive elemental profile of Greek Graviera (Gruyère) cheeses. In total, 105 samples from nine different geographic regions produced from sheep, goat and cow milk and their mixtures were assessed. Elemental signatures of 61 elements were investigated for determination of geographic origin and milk type. Regional and milk type classification through Linear Discriminant Analysis was successful for almost all cases, while a less optimistic cross validation exercise presented lower classification rates. That points to further research using a much larger sample set, increasing confidence for cheese authentication utilizing also bioinformatics tools under development. This is the first study reporting signatures of 61 elements in dairy products including all sixteen rare earth elements and all seven precious metals. Safety and quality were assessed regarding toxic and nutritive elements. According to both EU and USA regulations and directives, Graviera is a nutritional source for trace and macro elements with low levels of toxic elements.