A novel method to rapidly distinguish the geographical origin of traditional fermented-salted vegetables by mass fingerprinting.

The geographical origin of kimchi is of interest to consumers and producers because the prices of commercial kimchi products can vary significantly according to the geographical origin. Hence, social issues related to the geographical origin of kimchi in Korea have emerged as a major problem. In this study, the geographical origin of kimchi was determined by comparing the mass fingerprints obtained for Korean and Chinese kimchi samples by MALDI-TOF MS with multivariate analysis. The results obtained herein provide an accurate, powerful tool to clearly discriminate kimchi samples based on their geographical origin within a short time and to ensure food authenticity, which is of significance in the kimchi industry. Furthermore, our MALDI-TOF MS method could be applied to determining the geographical origin of other fermented-salted vegetables at a reduced cost in shorter times.