Analysis of the mineral composition of Italian saffron by ICP-MS and classification of geographical origin

•Saffron composition is investigated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.•Potentiality of mineral composition for traceability purposes is evaluated.•Classification of spices coming from three Italian regions is attempted.

27 Saffron spices produced in three Italian regions, Abruzzo (L’Aquila), Umbria and Sardinia, were analysed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to test potentiality of mineral composition for geographical traceability. A linear discriminant analysis (LDA) based on concentrations of 12 selected elements, Li, B, Na, Ga, Rb, Sr, Zr, Nb, Cs, Ba, Sm, and Hf, allows more than 80% of correct predictions in leave-one cross-validation. Four elements (B, Na, Sr and Rb), identified by step-wise LDA, provide more than 90% of correct predictions. Moreover, saffron spices cultivated in Sardinia and Central Italy can be distinguished under more severe validation conditions (20% of samples in the prediction set). In summary, mineral composition results a promising indicator of saffron geographical origin.