Isotopic, mycotoxin, and pesticide analysis for organic authentication along the production chain of wheat-derived products

Abstract

Wheat-based products are staples in diets worldwide. Organic food frauds continuously threaten consumer trust in the agri-food system. A multi-method approach was conducted for the organic authentication and safety assessment of pasta and bakery products along their production chain. Bulk and Compound-Specific (CS) Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) suggested the δ15Nbulk, δ15Nleucine and δ15Nproline as promising organic markers, with CS able to distinguish between pairs which bulk analysis could not. Processing significantly affected the values of δ15Nleucine, δ13Cproline and δ13Cleucine. Multi-mycotoxin analysis (HT-2, T-2, DON, ZEN, OTA, AFB1) revealed higher contamination in conventional than organic samples, while both milling and baking significantly reduced mycotoxin content. Lastly, from the evaluation of 400 residues, isopyrazam was present at the highest concentration (0.12 mg/kg) in conventional wheat, exhibiting a 0.12 Processing Factor (PF), while tebuconazole levels remained unchanged in pasta production (90 °C) and reduced below LOQ in biscuits and crackers (180–250 °C).