Multi-element fingerprints of muscle tissues of Eriocheir sinensis from 8 major production areas in China to promote geographical origin and food safety authentication

Geographic traceability plays a crucial role in ensuring quality assurance, brand establishment, and sustainable development of the <i>Eriocheir sinensis</i> industry. This study developed an innovative workflow for origin identification of <i>Eriocheir sinensis</i> using multi-element fingerprints technology and evaluated associated health risks from consumption. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze 25 elements in 335 samples of muscle tissue from eight major production areas in China, revealing significant regional differences in elemental composition. Through orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), 10 variables with variable importance in projection (VIP) values >1 were selected from muscle tissue data. These were combined with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to establish a traceability model. The model provided detailed discriminant formulas, significantly improving operability, and achieved 96.1 % classification accuracy with 94.3 % cross-validation accuracy. This workflow offers a cost-effective and user-friendly solution for origin authentication. Risk assessment based on target hazard quotients (THQs) indicated all values were below 1, suggesting no significant health risks from regular consumption.