Tracing the Geographic Origin of Beef in China on the Basis of the Combination of Stable Isotopes and Multielement Analysis

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 2013-07, Vol.61 (29), p.7055-7060
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yan, Zhang, Bin, Chen, Gang, Chen, Ailiang, Yang, Shuming, Ye, Zhihua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; beef; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon Isotopes - analysis; Cattle; China; Discriminant Analysis; Food Analysis - methods; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Meat - analysis; Meat and meat product industries; Metals - analysis; Multivariate Analysis; Nitrogen Isotopes - analysis; principal component analysis; provenance; stable isotopes; Tibet
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf400947y

The potential for classifying beef samples on the basis of their geographical origin was investigated by stable isotope and multielement analysis using samples from various provinces in China. C and N isotope composition and the concentrations of 23 elements of the defatted beef samples were determined. It was shown that as compared to the Tibet beef fed predominantly on C3 pasture, maize-fed beef produced in Shandong and Heilongjiang province gave rise to a significant difference in 13C content. Significant differences were also observed in 18 elements among the defatted beef samples. Stable isotope data and multielement concentrations determined in the beef were subjected to multivariate analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA). Eight key variables were identified as providing maximum discrimination among samples. DA gave an overall correct classification rate of 100% and a cross-validation rate of 100%. This research has proved that the geographical origin of beef in China can be identified by a combination of stable isotopes and multielement analysis.