Traceability of ‘Limone di Siracusa PGI’ by a multidisciplinary analytical and chemometric approach

•Food traceability has become a matter of importance with respect to safety and quality issues.•‘Limone di Siracusa’ have generated considerable interest among consumers, lending it a higher commercial value.•Near Infrared Spectroscopy, Multi-Elemental Analysis and Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectrometry have been applied.•The proposed method is a powerful, practical tool suitable for tracing unclassified lemon samples. Food traceability is increasingly relevant with respect to safety, quality and typicality issues. Lemon fruits grown in a typical lemon-growing area of southern Italy (Siracusa), have been awarded the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) recognition as ‘Limone di Siracusa’. Due to its peculiarity, consumers have an increasing interest about this product. The detection of potential fraud could be improved by using the tools linking the composition of this production to its typical features. This study used a wide range of analytical techniques, including conventional techniques and analytical approaches, such as spectral (NIR spectra), multi-elemental (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Li, Sr) and isotopic (13C/12C, 18O/16O) marker investigations, joined with multivariate statistical analysis, such as PLS-DA (Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis) and LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis), to implement a traceability system to verify the authenticity of ‘Limone di Siracusa’ production. The results demonstrated a very good geographical discrimination rate.