Differentiation of Confectionery Products Based on Mineral Composition

The aim of this investigation was to introduce multivariate techniques for the estimation of confectionery product quality in view of their mineral composition. The concentrations of 14 elements (Ca, Mg, K, Na, P, Co, Mn, Fe, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb) were determined in confectionery products after wet digestion with nitric acid in an automatic microwave digestion system. The total metal contents were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry using deuterium background correction. Phosphorus was determined in the form of phosphomolybdate by a spectrophotometric method. Reliability of the procedure was checked by analysis of the certified reference materials tea (NCS DC 73351), cabbage (IAEA-359), and spinach (IAEA-331). Significant correlation coefficients were found between concentrations of Mg, Zn, Ca, K, Na, P, and Fe in the samples analyzed. Application of ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis test revealed dependence between sugar biological provenance and its elemental composition. Macro-and microelement levels in chocolates were significantly influenced by the cocoa content in the final product as well as its geographical origin. Factorial and cluster analyses were applied to the data in order to characterize elemental content of the confectionery products. Based on the mineral composition, it was possible to differentiate chemometrically particular types of sugar, cocoa, and chocolates, which is important from the food authenticity point of view.