Transfer of major and trace elements along the farm-to-fork chain of different whole grain products

An ICP-MS validated method was employed for monitoring major and trace elements along the farm-to-fork chains of whole grain (WG) KAMUT (R), common buckwheat and durum wheat, considering the different steps of pasta production, and the cooking procedure as well. A PCA analysis identified the elements responsible for sample discrimination, thus providing potential markers of food quality and safety. Stone milling of grains was responsible for maintaining high mineral contents in the downstream products of all the chains, thus defining their WG nature (mean losses in the range of 1.08-5.52% were tracked). Pasta making affected to a greater extent the elemental profile of the different types of pasta, probably due to bronze extruders and long-time drying processes (mean enrichments between 4.00% and 90.08% were monitored). Pasta cooking induced the most severe elemental enrichments (22-225%) and losses (7.70-84.90%) in the ready-to-eat-product, as a consequence of complex chemical transformations underlying moisture gain and leaching events. Overall, WG common buckwheat grains, flour and pasta resulted the major source of valuable minerals (e.g. Mg, Ca, P, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn) and the minor source of contaminants (e.g. Ni, Cd, and Pb), when compared to the WG durum wheat and KAMUT (R). counterparts. Nevertheless, the Sicilian durum wheat (cultivar Simeto) chain was marked by a precious content of Se.