Trace Elements Analysis of Tunisian and European Extra Virgin Olive Oils by ICP-MS and Chemometrics for Geographical Discrimination

The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of trace elements in olive oils from different locations and their use for geographical authentication. Concentrations of seventeen elements were determined in a total of 42 olive oils from Tunisia, Spain (Basque country), and southern France, and in nine soil samples from Tunisia by quadrupole inductively plasma mass spectrometry. The compilation of appropriate techniques integrated into the analytical procedure achieved a precision (RSD) between 2% and 15% and low limits of detection (between 0.0002 and 0.313 µg kg−1). The accuracy of the analytical method applied for olive oil analysis was evaluated using SRM NIST 2387 Peanut butter. The recoveries obtained after microwave-assisted digestion for the certified elements ranged between 86% and 102%. Concentrations of non-certified elements (V, Cr, Co, Ni, Ba, Rb, Sr, Cd, Pb, and As) were presented. The use of Pearson correlation applied on paired Tunisian oil/soil samples has shown that several elements (Mg, Mn, Ni, and Sr) were significantly correlated. The multivariate statistics using principal component analysis have successfully discriminated against three studied origins. The most significant variables were the elemental concentrations of Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Sr, V, and Zn. This study shows the potential of applying trace elements profiles for olive oil geographical discrimination.This research was funded by European Project TunTwin from the Horizon 2020 Framework program of the European Union under grant No. 952306. It was also funded by the French ANR EquiPex MARSS project with a contribution of the METROFOOD ESFRI project. This work was partially supported by the Euskadi/Nouvelle Aquitaine/Navarra Eurorregion through the research project ISOTOPO (with agreement no. 2020/3). The financial support of a Ph.D. grant for Emna G. Nasr has been provided by the “Excellence Eiffel” scholarship of Campus France, the European project “TunTwin” and the scholarship “bourse d’alternance” of University Tunis El Manar, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia