Precise determination of strontium isotope ratios by TIMS to authenticate tomato geographical origin

Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) was applied to discriminate a total of 118 tomato samples (berries, passata, tinned tomatoes, sauce, double and triple concentrate) coming from two different countries. The TIMS technique gave significantly different results for the Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios and delta parts per thousand values between Chinese and Italian tomato samples, irrespective of the treatment type. This technique proved to be a robust method, suitable for a precise discrimination of the two geographical origins. TIMS was able, within the Italian samples, to discriminate different geographical production areas, by virtue of different Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios and delta parts per thousand values. This technique could be employed in the field of food safety and quality, as a profitable tool for authenticating tomato geographical origin. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.