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Sr isotope measurements in beef—analytical challenge and first results

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Abstract

The strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) in beef, derived from 206 European cattle, has been measured. These cattle were located in 12 different European regions within France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK. As animal protein is known to be a difficult material on which to conduct Sr isotope analysis, several investigations were undertaken to develop and improve the sample preparation procedure. For example, Sr isotope analysis was performed directly on freeze-dried meat and defatted dry mass from the same samples. It was found that enormous differences—sometimes exceeding the measurement uncertainty—could occur between the fractions and also within one sample even if treated in the same manner. These variations cannot be definitely allocated to one cause but are most likely due to inhomogeneities caused by physiological and biochemical processes in the animals as post mortem contamination during analytical processing could be excluded. For further Sr isotope measurements in meat, careful data handling is recommended, and for the authentic beef samples within this project, it was decided to use only freeze-dried material. It can be demonstrated, however, that Sr isotope measurements in beef proteins are a valuable tool for authentication of geographic origin. Although partly overlapping, some of the European sampling sites could be discriminated even by only using 87Sr/86Sr.

Box plot diagram displaying 87Sr/86Sr in authentic beef samples ordered by Trace sampling sites

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded in part by the European Commission, under the FP6 Food Quality and Safety Priority, within the framework of the Integrated Project TRACE—006942—entitled ‘Tracing Food Commodities in Europe’. Additionally, we would like to thank the three reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BSPG (Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie), Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333, München, Germany

    S. Rummel, C. H. Dekant & S. Hölzl

  2. FERA (Food and Environment Research Agency), North Yorkshire, YO41 1LZ, UK

    S. D. Kelly & M. Baxter

  3. The Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UA, UK

    N. Marigheto

  4. EC-JRC-IRMM (European Commission-Joint Research Centre-Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements), 2440, Geel, Belgium

    C. R. Quetel

  5. IASMA (Fondazione E. Mach-Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige), 38010, San Michele all’Adige, Italy

    R. Larcher & G. Nicolini

  6. Seibersdorf Labor GmbH, 2444, Seibersdorf, Austria

    H. Fröschl

  7. Centre for Forensic Provenancing University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

    H. Ueckermann

  8. Oritain Global Limited, 8 Pacific Street, 9010, Dunedin, New Zealand

    J. Hoogewerff

  9. GeoBio-Center at LMU, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333, München, Germany

    S. Hölzl

  10. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften, Paläontologie & Geobiologie, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333, München, Germany

    S. Hölzl

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  1. S. Rummel
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  2. C. H. Dekant
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  3. S. Hölzl
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  4. S. D. Kelly
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  7. C. R. Quetel
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  8. R. Larcher
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  12. J. Hoogewerff
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Correspondence to S. Rummel.

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Rummel, S., Dekant, C.H., Hölzl, S. et al. Sr isotope measurements in beef—analytical challenge and first results. Anal Bioanal Chem 402, 2837–2848 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-5759-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-5759-3

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