title: Geographic origins of Korean and Chinese kimchi determined by multiple elements.
abstract: An elemental analysis was performed on 30 Korean and Chinese kimchi samples in combination with strontium (Sr) isotope ratio measurements to develop a method for tracing the geographic origins of Korean and Chinese kimchi. We found a distinct difference between Korean and Chinese kimchi in such specific elements as K, Na, Ca, Ba, Sr, Zn, Li, and Sc, but no significant difference in the Sr isotope ratio. A comparative analysis was performed with washed kimchi (containing no submaterial) and unwashed kimchi to evaluate the effect of submaterials on the determination of geographic origin. A linear discriminant analysis provided a clear distinction between Korean and Chinese kimchi. The results indicate that combining multi-elemental and statistical analyses has the potential to determine the geographic origins of such processed food as kimchi.
authors.affiliation: Division of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ochang Center, Korea Basic Science Institute, Ochang-eup, Cheongwon-gun, Chungbuk 363-883, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yeon-Sik
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Bong
authors.forename: Mukesh Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Gautam
authors.forename: Mi-Ran
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: LA
authors.forename: Kwang-Sik
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005504:Food Analysis; D005511:Food Handling; D007723:Korea; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D013325:Strontium Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D013325:Strontium Isotopes