Beef Authentication and Retrospective Dietary Verification Using Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis of Bovine Muscle and Tail Hair

Stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) was used as an analytical tool to verify the preslaughter diet of beef cattle. Muscle and tail hair samples were collected from animals fed either pasture (P), a barley-based concentrate (C), silage followed by pasture (SiP), or silage followed by pasture with concentrate (SiPC) for 1 year (n = 25 animals per treatment). The C-13/C-12, N-15/N-14, H-2/H-1, and S-34/S-32 isotope ratios in muscle clearly reflected those of the diets consumed by the animals. By applying a stepwise canonical discriminant analysis, a good discrimination of bovine meat according to dietary regimen was obtained. On the basis of the classification success rate, the C-13/C-12 and S-34/S-32 ratios in muscle were the best indicators for authentication of beef from animals consuming the different diets. Analysis of C-13/C-12 and N-15/N-14 in tail hair sections provided an archival record of changes to the diet of the cattle for periods of over 1 year preslaughter.