Typicity in potato: Characterization of geographic origin

A two-year study was carried out in three regions of Italy and the crop performance and the chemical composition of tubers of three typical potato varieties evaluated. Carbon and nitrogen tuber content was determined by means of an elemental analyzer and the other mineral elements by means of a spectrometer. The same determinations were performed on soil samples taken from experimental areas. The Principal Component Analysis, applied to the results of mineral element tuber analysis, permitted the classification of all potato tuber samples according to their geographic origin. Only a partial discrimination was obtained in function of potato varieties. Some correlations between mineral content in the tubers and in the soil were also detected. Analytical and statistical methods proved to be useful in verifying the authenticity of guaranteed geographical food denominations.