Geographical origin traceability of lamb based on mineral element fingerprints

Mineral element fingerprints in lamb meat of the different origins were investigated, aiming to seek its potential of determining the geographical origin of lamb. Contents of four essential major elements (K、Ca、Na、Mg), and thirteen trace elements (V、Mn、Fe、Cr、Be、Sb、Ni、Cu、As、Zn、Se、Ba、Tl) in lamb samples from three pastoral regions including Alxa League, Xilin Gol League and Hulunbuir City, and two agricultural regions including Chongqing City and Heze City of China were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The multivariate statistical methods such as variation analysis, correlation analysis and discriminant analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed that the mineral element fingerprints had distinct geographical features. The agricultural region samples were characterized by generally higher elemental contents than the pastoral region samples. Nine elements including Ca、Zn、Be、Ni、Fe、Ba、Sb、Mn and Se were related to the local soil and suggested as effective tracers for lamb origin assessment. The correct classification rate were both higher than 90% for samples from the agricultural and pastoral regions, while varied between 70% and 100% for samples from the five individual regions. The results demonstrated that the mineral element fingerprints can be used to authenticate geographical origins of lamb. This method can also provide a reference for origin traceability of other foodstuffs.