Determination of the Geographic Origin of Frozen Taro by Inorganic Analysis

• Published in: Biomedical Research on Trace Elements Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 243 - 246
• Main Authors: Yoshida, Kaoru, Iwasaki, Risa, Teramoto, Keiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Osaka Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trace Elements 31.12.2012; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Food safety; frozen taro; geographic origin; inorganic elemnts; linear discriminant analysis; Spectral analysis; Trace elements
• ISSN: 0916-717X; 1880-1404
• DOI: 10.11299/brte.23.243

Food traceability systems are used to ensure food safety. The objective of this research was to develop a simple method to confirm the geographical authenticity of frozen taro. To characterize frozen taros according to their geographic origin and variety, 6 mineral and trace elements (Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn) were determined in frozentaro samples using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Mn, Cu, Ca and Mg concentration of frozen taro from China was higher than those from Japan. Liner discriminant analysis (LDA) was applied to discriminate the geographic origin between Japan and China. Using the established LDA model using 4 elements (Mn, Cu, Ca and Mg), 100% of samples were correctly determined. The results suggest that Chinese frozen taro could be distinguished from Japanese ones by determination of inorganic elements using AAS and by LDA using Microsoft Excel.