Multielement (H, C, N, O, S) stable isotope characteristics of lamb meat from different Italian regions

The study focuses on the 2H/H, 13C/12C, 15N/14N, 18O/16O and 34S/32S values of defatted dry matter (DFDM) and on the 2H/H, 13C/12C and 18O/16O values of the fat fraction of meat samples from various lamb types reared in seven Italian regions, following different feeding regimes (forage, concentrate, milk). The 13C/12C (r¼0.922), 2H/H (r¼0.577) and 18O/16O (r¼0.449) values of fat and DFDM are significantly correlated, the fat values being significantly lower for C and H and higher for O than for DFDM values and the differences between the two fractions not being constant for different lamb types. The feeding regime significantly affected the 13C/12C, 15N/14N, 18O/16O and 2H/H of fat. The DFDM 2H/H, and 18O/16O values, excluding an outlier, are significantly correlated with the corresponding values in meteoric waters, thus allowing us to trace the variability of geoclimatic factors. 15N/14Nis influenced by pedoclimatic conditions, whereas 34S/32S is influenced by the sea spray effect and the surface geology of the provenance area. By applying stepwise linear discriminant analysis only the 2H/H of fat was found not to be significant and 97.7% of the samples were correctly assigned to the lamb type and more than 90% cross-validated. With the feeding regime, 97.7% of the samples were both correctly assigned and cross-validated using a predictive model including 13C/12C, 15N/14N, 18O/16O, 34S/32S of DFDM and 18O/16O of fat.