Dataset Information

Acorn Isotopic Composition: A New Promising Tool for Authenticity Maps of Montado's High-Value Food Products.

ABSTRACT: It is often overlooked that even food production is linked to the ecology of plants and animals. Living organisms respond to environmental short-and long-term variability: acknowledging this may help in the ultimate goal of valorizing a territory/product. We investigated acorns of the two main Quercus species of the Portuguese Montado, a main feed of the renown black Iberian pig. We tested their responses to an aridity gradient by morphological parameters and isotopic signature. Q. rotundifolia and Q. suber acorns did not differ morphologically, even if a higher variability in all parameters was observed in acorns of Q. suber. According to the site-specific Aridity Index, correlations are indicative to higher weight and length only in Q. suber acorns from more arid sites. As for isotopic composition, there were no differences in nitrogen or carbon (?15N and ?13C) between the two species. However, combining the samples and testing for association with the Aridity Index, we found that more arid sites lead to a 15N enrichment. This result, combined with the positive correlation between AI and acorns length, support the use of acorns as a tool, their isoscapes of nitrogen being a stepping stone for the provenance of the black Iberian pig.

SUBMITTER: Alegria C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7181146 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Acorn Isotopic Composition: A New Promising Tool for Authenticity Maps of Montado's High-Value Food Products.

Alegria Carla C Antunes Cristina C Giovanetti Manuela M Abreu Marta M Máguas Cristina C

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) 20200327 7

It is often overlooked that even food production is linked to the ecology of plants and animals. Living organisms respond to environmental short-and long-term variability: acknowledging this may help in the ultimate goal of valorizing a territory/product. We investigated acorns of the two main <i>Quercus</i> species of the Portuguese <i>Montado</i>, a main feed of the renown black Iberian pig. We tested their responses to an aridity gradient by morphological parameters and isotopic signature. <i ...[more]

PMID: 32230969

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Project description:BackgroundBrazil is a low- to medium-income country and has the second largest pet food market in the world with 8% of world pet food consumption. The lowest-income social class spends around 17% of their domestic budget on pet food and other items related to pets. Consumers are frequently misled by advertising as there is no precise information about the main sources of protein, carbohydrates and fat in the labels, and the Brazilian pet food industry can legally claim that their products contain certain items like salmon or beef even if they use just a flavoring compound.MethodsThe stable isotope methodology compares the stable isotope ratios of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) between source and product. The 13C/12C ratio of a specific product (e.g., dog food) reveals the proportions of C4 (maize) and C3 (soybean, rice and wheat) plants in that product and the 15N/14N ratio reveals the proportion of the compounds derived from animals. With this isotopic data, we used MixSIAR, a Bayesian stable isotope-mixing model, to estimate the proportion of maize, grains, poultry and beef in dog food.ResultsThe δ13C values of dry dog food ranged from -24.2‰ to -12.8‰, with an average (± standard-deviation) of -17.1‰ ± 2.8‰. The δ13C values of wet pet food ranged from -25.4‰ to -16.9‰, with an average (± standard-deviation) of -21.2‰ ± 2.4‰, which was significantly lower (p < 0.01). The δ15N values of the dry and wet food ranged from 1.7‰ to 4.2‰, and from 0.5‰ to 5.5‰, respectively. The average δ15N values of dry food (2.9‰ ± 0.5‰) was not higher than the wet food (2.6‰ ± 1.3‰) (p > 0.01). The output of the MixSIAR showed a low proportion of bovine products in dry dog food samples. On the other hand, poultry was obviously the dominant ingredient present in most of the samples. Maize was the second dominant ingredient. Wet and dry dog food showed similar isotopic analysis results. The only difference was a lower proportion of maize and higher proportion of grains in wet dog food.DiscussionThe main finding is that dog food in Brazil is mostly made of approximately 60% (ranging from 32% to 86%) animal-based and 40% (ranging from 14% to 67%) plant-based products. Poultry and maize are the main ingredients. Poultry is added as a by-product or meal, which avoids competition between dogs and humans for meat products, while they can compete for maize. On the other hand, a large proportion of plant-based products in dog food decreases the energy and environmental footprint, since plant-based food products tend to be less harmful compared to animal-based products. Labels can mislead consumers by showing pictures of items that are not necessarily part of the product composition and by not showing the detailed information on the proportion of each ingredient. This information would allow customers to make their own choices considering their pet's nutrition, the competition between animals and humans for resources and environmental sustainability.

Dataset Information

Acorn Isotopic Composition: A New Promising Tool for Authenticity Maps of Montado's High-Value Food Products.

Publications

Acorn Isotopic Composition: A New Promising Tool for Authenticity Maps of Montado's High-Value Food Products.

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