This study (open access) investigated the impact of aging on the isotopic ratios in Italian balsamic vinegar, focusing on δ18O of water and δ13C of glucose, fructose, and acetic acid. Bulk variables such as water content, density, total acidity, refractive index, and glucose and fructose concentration were also evaluated. The findings revealed that δ18O values of water progressively increased with aging inside the casks’ series for Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, allowing a clear differentiation between traditional and non-traditional balsamic vinegars. In contrast, the δ13C values of glucose, fructose, and acetic acid were also influenced by the conditions of production and origins of the starting raw materials. Further research is needed to better understand the effects of the individual factors that influence the δ13C values for enhancing the ability to authenticate and differentiate balsamic vinegar products.
isotope (2)
In this study (open access), researchers set out to discriminate Royal Gala and Golden Delicious apples as being either Czech or Polish origin. They built a reference database of 64 samples were collected in the years 2020–2022 from Central Bohemia Eastern Bohemia, South Moravia, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Łódź Voivodeship, and Masovian Voivodeship. They measured phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), boron (B), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and iron (Fe) as well as isotope ratios 10B/11B and 87Sr/86Sr.
They concluded that, with this data set, it was not possible to robustly differentiate Czech vs Polish origin. The variation within individual regions, and the variation due to different agricultural inputs, was too significant compared to the variation between countries. They concluded that differentiation would be possible in principle but a much more granular reference database would be needed. Their findings contradicted previous published work that phosphorus was a suitable marker to differentiate Czech from Polish apples.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
