Abstract
Globalization has resulted in the availability of food products from other countries, and therefore today consumers are concerned to know the origin of their food. Efficient analytical techniques are required to guarantee accurate labeling and the authentication of the food origin. This study was designed to analyze pork belly fat from USA, Spain, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Chile and South Korea for elemental composition and isotope ratios and multivariate chemometric analyses were employed to authenticate the geographical origins of the samples. The concentrations of macroelements were in the order of potassium > phosphorus > sodium > sulfur > calcium > aluminum > zinc > iron while the trace elements were below the safe limits. The isotope ratios for 87Sr/84Sr, 52Cr/50Cr, and 71Ga/69Ga were comparatively high. Linear discriminant analysis and principal component analysis distinguished the samples to 98.2%. Lithium, strontium, arsenic, chromium, vanadium, manganese, nickel, and cadmium were considered to be adequate descriptors for pork origin authentication.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.