This guideline (open access) provides practical recommendations for the preparation and analysis of solid and liquid food samples using stable isotope techniques.
Emphasis is placed on harmonized protocols for sample preparation, including drying, encapsulation, and homogenization, and on the use of internationally recognized isotope reference scales: Vienna Pee Dee belemnite (VPDB) for carbon, atmospheric air (AIR) for nitrogen, Vienna standard mean ocean water (VSMOW) for hydrogen and oxygen, and Vienna Canyon Diablo troilite (V‐CDT) for sulfur. Best practices for selecting and applying certified reference materials, multipoint normalization, correcting for instrument linearity, and uncertainty propagation using regression approaches are discussed. Quality control measures—such as blanks, replicates, and matrix‐matched standards—are essential to ensure reproducibility and interlaboratory comparability.
These guidelines aim to standardize stable isotope methodology in food science and support users in producing accurate, defensible, and globally comparable isotopic data.
Comments