δ18O ISOTOPE MAP-GENERATION OF EUROPEAN MINERAL WATERS, APPLICATIONS AND LIMITS

摘要

There is an increasing demand for independent analytical methods which can control the geographical origin of food. The EU project TRACE was started with the aim to develop a general understanding of the relation between the geo-bio-climatic environment and the isotope and elemental signature in food commodities. Beside mineral water the agricultural products wheat, honey, olive oil and lamb meat are investigated. As one part of the study a detailed δ18O map for groundwater will be generated by the isotope results of 600 samples of European mineral waters. These isotope groundwater maps provide a multitude of applications not only for authenticity of food, but for groundwater recharge and climate studies, criminal forensics as well as archaeology.