Traceability of ‘Mozzarella di Bufala Campana’ production chain by means of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios

BACKGROUND: New techniques are required to guarantee the authenticity of food, especially for PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) trademarks. The genuineness of a product is directly related to the raw material and to the production process used. In this article, the traceability of the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO was investigated, using carbon, nitrogen and oxygen stable isotopes ratios, measured on buffalo feeding, milk and mozzarella, from Caserta and Salerno farms. Furthermore, 37 mozzarella brands were analyzed (carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotopes) from the different production areas, to characterize their origin. RESULTS: The results of this work showed no changes in carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of milk and mozzarella, indicating no fractionation in the production process. The δ13C of milk was influenced by feeding signal; while, milk δ15N was regulated by fractionation occurring during ruminant metabolism. Mozzarella oxygen isotopic signal depleted with respect to the milk one. Regarding brand samples, it was found that the geographical differentiation is based more on carbon isotopes than on the nitrogen and oxygen ones. CONCLUSION: This work gives an important contribution to the knowledge regarding the traceability of such a particular cheese as mozzarella. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.