Linking Soil, Water, and Honey Composition To Assess the Geographical Origin of Argentinean Honey by Multielemental and Isotopic Analyses

The objective of this research was to investigate the development of a reliable fingerprint from elemental and isotopic signatures of Argentinean honey to assess its geographical provenance. Honey, soil, and water from three regions (Cordoba, Buenos Aires, and Entre Rios) were collected. The multielemental composition was determined by ICP-MS. delta C-13 was measured by isotopic ratio mass spectrometry, whereas the Sr-87/Sr-86 ratio was determined using thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The data were analyzed by chemometrics looking for the association between the elements, stable isotopes, and honey samples from the three studied areas. Honey samples were differentiated by classification trees and discriminant analysis using a combination of eight key variables (Rb, K/Rb, B, U, Sr-87/Sr-86, Na, La, and Zn) presenting differences among the studied regions. The application of canonical correlation analysis and generalized procrustes analysis showed 91.5% consensus between soil, water, and honey samples, in addition to clear differences between studied areas. To the authors knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the correspondence between soil, water, and honey samples using different statistical methods, showing that elemental and isotopic honey compositions are related to soil and water characteristics of the site of origin.