Isotopic methods and statistical models for tracing the origin of dairy products

Supervisor : Edi Piasentier

Recently it has been shown that by combining the analysis of the stable isotope ratios of H, C, N, O and S with that of the mineral content using multivariate statistical techniques, it is possible to create models able to distinguish important PDO cheeses, such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano from their principal competitors. Animal diet composition (e.g. the presence of maize or leguminous plants), the geographical and climatic characteristics of the provenance area, geology, pedology and dairy manufacturing technology are the main variability factors influencing these analytical parameters. The development of objective models able to check the authenticity of commercial cheeses is very important in order to protect them from mislabelling.
In this work I want to investigate the robustness of the methods for the analysis of stable isotope ratios and mineral composition in cheese and to better understand the variability of these parameters in milk and from milk to the corresponding cheese. 
To do it, an international collaborative study has been organised and the data will be evaluated according to the IUPAC protocol and the ISO Standards 5725/2004 e 13528/2005
Moreover, I intend to organise the collection of milk samples produced in several European sites and of groups of samples consisted of milk and corresponding cheese. All of the samples will be submitted to the analysis of stable isotope ratios of H, C, N, O and S and of the mineral content and the data will be properly evaluated.

Fundings : The research activity is carried out in collaboration with the Edmund Mach Foundation (San Michele all’Adige - Trento) and the Consorzio per la tutela del Formaggio Grana Padano.

Biography and contacts
Federica Camin was born in 1972 in Italy, in 1998 graduated with honours (110/110 lode) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology and in 2001 specialised in Chemical Methodologies for Survey and Analysis at the University of Padua (Italy). Since 1998 she has been working as a researcher at the Agricultural Institute of San Michele all’Adige, now the Edmund Mach Foundation (Trento) and in 2012 started the doctoral course at the PhD school “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine.

federica.camin@iasma.it
[Phone 0461-615149]