| Summary: | Apples have long been the most important fruit commodity in the Czech Republic, but
their domestic production is threatened by imports of cheaper foreign apples.
However, taking into account the fact that consumers often prefer domestic products and are willing to pay extra for them, incorrect labelling of the country of origin (socalled "false geographicality") is an unavoidable risk. From an analytical point of view,
however, the control of geographical origin is a difficult task and the procedures
published so far have their limitations. The aim of this pilot study was to verify the
potential of a new, as yet untested strategy for detecting apples with incorrectly
stated geographical origin. Non-target analysis of the epicuticular layer of fruits was
performed using the UHPLC-HRMS/MS technique. Obtained data ("chemical
fingerprints") were analysed using advanced statistical methods. The results showed
significant differences in the spectrum of epicuticular waxes of different apple
cultivars and indicated the need to process a larger set of exactly characterized fruits,
which will allow the construction of a diagnostic model to determine geographical
origin.
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