No abstract

No abstract

BACKGROUND Apples have a leading role in the Italian fruit sector, and high‐quality apples, including the Golden Delicious variety, are cultivated mainly in the Northern mountain districts. In the present study, Golden Delicious apples from PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) cultivation districts were characterized according to their Sr isotope composition and compared with apples from other Northern Italian districts. RESULTS Apples collected in two consecutive years (2017 and 2018) confirmed the low annual variability of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio. The isotope ratio of apples was highly correlated with that of the soil extracts of the respective orchards. Statistical differences were highlighted between cultivation districts. However, because similar geological features characterized some areas, their ratios overlapped and a complete separation of the districts was not possible. CONCLUSION The 87Sr/86Sr ratio is an excellent marker for studies of food traceability because it retains the information about the place of origin. However, its strength is limited when comparing products from cultivation areas sharing similar geological features. In the perspective of geographical traceability, a multichemical characterization can overcome the limits of single‐parameter approach. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are a wide group of contaminants of emerging concern known to be harmful for organisms. The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence and distribution of six EDCs (estrone-E1, ß-estradiol-E2, 17α-ethinylestradiol-EE2, bisphenol A-BPA, perfluooctanoic acid-PFOA, perfluorooctane sulfonate-PFOS) in the Apenninic rivers and groundwaters of the Romagna area (North of Italy). Groundwaters were unaffected by EDC contamination, while all classes of compounds were detected at concentrations above the method quantification limit (MQL) in the majority of the river bodies. In detail, PFOA and PFOS concentrations varied between