A feasibility study of tomato fruit quality assessment and traceability by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and statistical analysis

Metrics Abstract X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements were performed on dried tomato samples coming from “Pachino district”, a geographical area recognized by the European Community with the “Protected Geographical Indication” (PGI) label. The purpose of this study is to establish a protocol for in-situ analysis in order to provide a fast and reliable technique for quality assessment and traceability of PGI products. Experimental data were studied by using Principal Component Analysis. The results show the presence of several characterizing elements, which establish a clear fingerprint pattern associated with the geographical origin of this product. Implications and perspectives in applying XRF analysis in order to disentangle tomato samples coming from different Sicilian geographical areas will be discussed.