INRiM is a partner in the Analitic IG OliVinItaly project (Assessment of analytical targets and chemometric analysis of Geographical Indications representative of the olive oil and wine supply chains: Apulia and Sicily as model regions in Southern Italian agricultural areas), approved in the scenario of the cascade call of Spoke 9 “New technologies and methodologies for traceability, quality, safety, measurements and certifications to enhance and protect typicality in agri-food supply chains.”

The project was developed by BONASSISALAB S.p.A. and INRiM, with the aim of developing advanced tools to interpret, measure, and enhance the distinctive characteristics of emblematic Southern Italian products such as wine and extra virgin olive oil.

Traceability, quality, safety, connection with the territory, and the typicality of food products are fundamental values for the recovery and resilience of the production systems that make up the Italian agri-food “Made in Italy.” These parameters depend on the evolution of knowledge and the development of new approaches, which impact regulations, certification criteria, and strategies to maximize added value. They are complex and constantly evolving concepts, both in the definition of guidelines and in measurement methods. For this reason, the project adopted an integrated approach combining multiple analytical techniques and advanced statistical tools, enabling a more comprehensive and reliable characterization of the studied products.

The wine and olive oil sectors are key elements of Southern Italy’s agri-industry. With Analitic IG OliVinItaly, BONASSISALAB S.p.A. and INRiM – private and public centers of excellence in their respective fields – have proposed an integrated approach of technologies and methodologies to support traceability, quality, safety, measurements, and certifications, with the aim of enhancing and protecting the typicality of the wine and olive oil supply chains in Southern Italy. The regions of Apulia and Sicily were selected as reference models for these productions.

Within the project, a total of 120 products were sampled and analyzed, including 60 wines and 60 extra virgin olive oils with Geographical Indication recognized by the European Union. The analyses covered a wide range of parameters, including metals and trace elements, isotopic profiles, FTIR spectroscopy, volatile compounds, polyphenols, sterols, vitamins, and pigments.

The results clearly showed that the integration of chemical analysis and chemometrics can provide concrete support for the protection and enhancement of typical products. In particular, for wine, the combination of inorganic and organic variables enabled the development of classification models capable of distinguishing the geographical origin of samples with encouraging results: in cross-validation, the models achieved approximately 77% correct classifications, while one of the most effective models reached an accuracy of 83.3% on the test set. In the case of olive oil, the integration of data from different analytical techniques made it possible to develop descriptive and predictive models capable of representing geographical and varietal differences, identifying significant patterns, and laying the groundwork for reliable tools for authentication and quality control.

Overall, the project confirmed that a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach can strengthen the verification of geographical origin, improve the ability to identify distinctive product characteristics, and provide new scientific foundations for future certification, control, and promotion activities in Southern Italy’s agri-food supply chains. The results also indicate that the developed strategies can be adapted to new harvest years, new production areas, and new application contexts, opening promising perspectives for an increasingly precise, transparent, and scientifically grounded enhancement of the Italian agri-food “Made in Italy.”