Dados do Trabalho

Título

RARE EARTH ELEMENT PROFILE AND CHEMOMETRICS AS A TOOL FOR GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGIN DETERMINATION: A CASE STUDY OF GOETHE GRAPES

Introdução

Rare earth elements (REEs) concentration has been suggested as a potential tool to identify the origin of food products, which would aid in food traceability as well as prevent food fraud. As a result, the assessment of REEs concentration represents a fundamental instrument for products with Geographical Indication (GI) appeal. No previous study had searched the characterization of REEs in Goethe grapes from the Goethe Grape’s Valley GI. Therefore, the present research aimed to identify potential geographical origin markers in Goethe grapes from the Goethe Grape’s Valley GI based on REEs profile and chemometric approaches.

Material e Métodos

Goethe grape clone Clássica and clone Primo cultivated in different micro-regions (Pedras Grandes and Urussanga/SC, Brazil) from Goethe Grape’s Valley were analyzed during 2022 and 2023 harvests. The REEs profile was determined by ICP-MS and the results were provided in μg kg-1 of grape (dry weight).

Resultados e Discussão

The results, for both harvests and clones, showed that the REEs profile of grapes was significantly influenced by the geographical origin. For both consecutive years, Principal Component Analysis indicated that samples from Pedras Grandes were associated with concentrations of La, Nd, Pr e Gd, and samples from Urussanga showed an association with Ce, Eu e Sm. Cluster’s analysis showed that different micro-regions of origin have influenced the formation of two different clusters. In this study, a group was formed with both Goethe clones from 2022 and 2023 harvests cultivated in Urussanga, and another group with samples that had been cultivated in Pedras Grandes micro-region in both harvests.

Conclusão

In conclusion, both Goethe grape clones cultivated within the same micro-region in the GI territory, exhibited patterns of REEs, regardless of the harvest season. Consequently, the assessment of REEs profile might represent an important tool for identifying geographical origin markers.