Abstract
An elemental analysis was performed on 30 Korean and Chinese kimchi samples in combination with strontium (Sr) isotope ratio measurements to develop a method for tracing the geographic origins of Korean and Chinese kimchi. We found a distinct difference between Korean and Chinese kimchi in such specific elements as K, Na, Ca, Ba, Sr, Zn, Li, and Sc, but no significant difference in the Sr isotope ratio. A comparative analysis was performed with washed kimchi (containing no submaterial) and unwashed kimchi to evaluate the effect of submaterials on the determination of geographic origin. A linear discriminant analysis provided a clear distinction between Korean and Chinese kimchi. The results indicate that combining multi-elemental and statistical analyses has the potential to determine the geographic origins of such processed food as kimchi.
