Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Ratios of Food and Beverage in Brazil

Several previous studies on targeted food items using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in Brazil have revealed that many of the items investigated are adulterated
mislabeled or even fraud. Here, we present the first Brazilian isotopic baseline assessment that can be used not only in future forensic cases involving food authenticity, but also in human forensic anthropology studies. The &delta
13C and &delta
15N were determined in 1245 food items and 374 beverages
most of them made in Brazil. The average &delta
15N of C3 plants were &minus
26.7 &plusmn
1.5&permil
and 3.9 &plusmn
3.9&permil
respectively, while the average &delta
15N of C4 plants were &minus
11.5 &plusmn
0.8&permil
and 4.6 &plusmn
2.6&permil
respectively. The &delta
15N of plant-based processed foods were &minus
21.8 &plusmn
4.8&permil
2.7&permil
respectively. The average &delta
15N of meat, including beef, poultry, pork and lamb were -16.6 &plusmn
4.7&permil
and 5.2 &plusmn
respectively, while the &delta
15N of animal-based processed foods were &minus
17.9 &plusmn
3.3&permil
and 3.3 &plusmn
3.5&permil
13C of beverages, including beer and wine was &minus
22.5 &plusmn
3.1&permil
We verified that C-C4 constitutes a large proportion of fresh meat, dairy products, as well as animal and plant-based processed foods. The reasons behind this high proportion will be addressed in this study.