title: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes as a potential tool to differentiate pork from organic and conventional systems.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Isotopic discrimination, dietary composition and feeding regime determine the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of animals. Accordingly, measurement of the stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen can be a potential method to identify patterns of pork production.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the current study, we investigated the carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratio in pork from organic and conventional systems. The average carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for various organic tissues, including hair, blood and defatted meat, were higher than those of conventionally raised ones. The discriminant analysis results based on the combination of carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios in defatted meat reached a 100% correct classification. Furthermore, the variation in carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of retail organic and conventional pork has been studied over 1 year. The results suggested that organic pork had a higher δ(13) C value than that of the conventional pork in all but three fortnights. Grouping of the δ(15) N data showed that the δ(15) N value in organic pork was higher than that of the conventional one throughout the whole year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The method established in the present study provides a potential detection that can be highly valuable to prevent fraudulent labelling of organic pork. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Quality Standard & Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Key Laboratory of Agro-products Quality and Safety, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.|Key Laboratory of Agro-products Quality and Safety, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Quality Standard & Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Key Laboratory of Agro-products Quality and Safety, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.|Key Laboratory of Agro-products Quality and Safety, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shuming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Quality Standard & Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Key Laboratory of Agro-products Quality and Safety, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.|Key Laboratory of Agro-products Quality and Safety, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Donghua
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D002681:China; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005513:Food Inspection / Q000379:methods*; D005515:Food Labeling; D058870:Food, Organic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D012621:Seasons; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes
keywords: conventional; organic; pork; stable isotope