Quality (philosophy)

Quantum mechanics

Engineering

Reliability engineering

Statistics

Materials science

Principal component analysis

Computer science

X-ray fluorescence

Traceability

Food science

Physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Evaluation methods

Cluster (spacecraft)

Mathematics

Elemental analysis

Characterization (materials science)

Fluorescence

Environmental science

Quality assessment

Chemistry

Programming language

Wine

Terroir

Food quality

Food Chemistry

Food product nutritional and sensory characteristics are often deeply linked to its territory of origin; therefore, its authentication by means of elemental composition becomes crucial for traceability and fighting food fraud. This study aims to establish a fast and reproducible procedure for origin and quality assessment of Sicilian tomato fruits, including PGI "Pomodoro di Pachino", by using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. Measurements were performed on different parts of PGI Pachino tomatoes belonging to the same production lot. Principal Component and Cluster Analyses show that the samples cluster accordingly with the production lot, disentangling the different parts of the fruit. This procedure, which uses XRF yield elemental pattern and statistical analysis, establishes a solid basis for characterizing elemental profiles by a fast XRF in-situ campaign, supporting the traceability system. The reliability of XRF results was confirmed by comparing elemental concentrations with ICP-MS measurements, performed for comparison, and tomato literature values.

Feasibility study of tomato fruit characterization by fast XRF analysis for quality assessment and food traceability