Abstract: 【Objective】To investigate the feasibility of multi-element analysis in determination of the geographical origin of beef in China, and preliminarily screen the effective tracers for beef origin assessment. 【Method】Contents of such elements as Na、Mg、Al、K、Ca、V、Mn、Fe、Co、Ni、Cu、Zn、Ga、As、Se、Sr、Zr、Mo、Sn、Sb、Ba、Pb were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) in 61 de-fatted beef samples, which originated from Jilin, Guizhou, Ningxia, and Hebei province. The data was analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis （CA） and discriminant analysis (DA). 【Results】The contents of Mn、Fe、Co、Zn、Ga、As、Se、Sr、Ba and Pb were the highest in the samples from Hebei province, the content of Ni was the highest in those from Jijin province, while the contents of K、Mo and Sb were the highest in those from Guizhou province, and those of Na and Ca were the highest in those from Ningxia province. The samples of de-fatted beef were classified into catalogs by PCA and CA, which was consistent to the geographical origin. Contents of five elements of Se、Sr、Fe、Ni and Zn were selected by DA and suggested as better tracers for beef origin assessment, by which, a 100% correct classification was achieved for samples from Jinlin, Guizhou and Hebei province, a 91% correct classification for samples from Ningxia province, and 98.4% correct classification for all samples from four different regions. 【Conclusion】It is feasible to determine the geographical origin of beef by the technology of multi-element analysis.

Key words: Beef, Geographical origin, Traceability, Multi-element analysis, ICP-MS