How much contribute soil and water to the composition of meat? A case study: meat from three areas of Argentina.

BARONI M.V.; PODIO N; BADINI R,; INGA, M; OSTERA HA; CAGNONI M; GALLEGOS, E; GAUTIER, E; PILAR PERAL-GARC¨ªA; HOOGEWERFF J; WUNDERLIN D.A.

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Año: 2011 p. 11117 - 11128

0021-8561

The main goal of this work was to propose a reliable method to verify the geographical origin of meat, establishing the influence of soil and water on its composition. Thus, beef meat, soil and water samples were collected from three major cattle producing regions of Argentina (Buenos Aires, C¨®rdoba and Entre R¨ªos). Multi-elementalcomposition was determined on these three matrixes by ICP-MS; ¦Ä13C, ¦Ä15N, ¦Ä 34S and ¦Ä 18O by IRMS; 87Sr/86Sr ratio by TIMS. Soil and drinking water samples could be characterized and clearly differentiated by combining the isotopic ratios and elements, demonstrating differences in geology and climatic conditions of three regions. Similarly, meat originated at each sampling area was characterized and differentiated using only six key variables (Rb, Ca/Sr, ¦Ä13C, ¦Ä15N, ¦ÄS and 87Sr/86Sr). Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA), using three studied matrixes (soil, water and meat), shows consensus between them and clear differences between studied areas. Furthermore, Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) demonstrates significant correlation between the chemical-isotopic profile of meat with those corresponding to both soil and water (r=0.93; p