Stable isotope ratios of Japanese Beef from Matsuzaka and Hida: Implication for chemical discrimination of geographic origin of beef

Abstract

Stable isotope ratios are potentially useful to discriminate the area from which plants and animals originate, and have, therefore, been applied for the chemical discrimination of the geographic origin of food materials. In this study, the isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen were determined for two brands of Japanese beef, Matsuzaka and Hida, in order to evaluate whether or not isotopic discrimination is applicable for beef brands. The isotope ratios of nitrogen and oxygen show similar values between the two brands, whereas that of carbon from Hida is clearly higher (by ̃4%) than that from Matsuzaka. These results are consistent with the significant differences in plant species comprising the fodder and its blend ratio (e.g., C3 vs. C4) between these two brands. Thus, a distinctive isotope ratio profile could potentially be found for beef brands, which should be useful in the chemical identification or discrimination of beef brands.