The chemical composition of foods is tightly regulated by multiple genotypic and agronomic
factors, which can thus serve as potential descriptors for traceability and authentication purposes.
In the present work, we performed a multi-chemical characterization of strawberry fruits from five
varieties (Aromas, Camarosa, Diamante, Medina, and Ventana) grown in two cultivation systems
(open/closed soilless systems) during two consecutive campaigns with di erent climatic conditions
(rainfall and temperature). For this purpose, we analyzed multiple components closely related to the
sensory and health characteristics of strawberry, including sugars, organic acids, phenolic compounds,
and essential and non-essential mineral elements, and various complementary statistical approaches
were applied for selecting chemical descriptors of cultivar and agronomic conditions. Anthocyanins,
phenolic acids, sucrose, and malic acid were found to be the most discriminant variables among
cultivars, while climatic conditions and the cultivation system were behind changes in polyphenol
contents. These results thus demonstrate the utility of combining multi-chemical profiling approaches
with advanced chemometric tools in food traceability research.
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