Food Authentication of Almonds (Prunus dulcis Mill.). Fast Origin Analysis with Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Chemometrics

Food fraud is a growing problem, especially misdeclaration due to regional price differences offering a wide field. Fast, powerful, and cost-effective analytical methods are therefore essential to counteract food fraud. The isotopolome is suitable for origin discrimination and was analyzed in this study using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A total of 250 almond samples from six countries and four crop years were analyzed and evaluated by chemometric methods. By using a ratio-based assessment, calibration problems were avoided and an origin predictive accuracy of 85.2 +/- 1.2% was achieved. Compared to ICP-MS with solution nebulization, the analysis time could be reduced to about one-fifth.