A discrimination method based on polyalcohol determination was developed for authenticity of protected geographical indication (PGI) vinegars-Shanxi extra aged vinegar (SVs) in China. Six polyalcohols in vinegars including erythritol, arabitol, xylitol, inositol, mannitol, and sorbitol were selected as the PGI discriminators. GC/MS was used to analyze the polyalcohols in the SVs, Zhenjiang vinegars (ZVs), Kazuo aged vinegars (KVs), and other non-geographical indication protected vinegars (NVs). SVs can be distinguished from KVs by the chemical markers mannitol and sorbitol, although the production processes for both types of vinegars are similar. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to distinguish SVs from ZVs and NVs. The differences among the three kinds of vinegars shown by PCA results may be due to the higher erythritol content in SVs, and the inositol and mannitol in ZVs. This study also found that the amount of polyalcohols in Chinese vinegars increases with the acidity value only, regardless of the aging time. The overall results indicated that the polyalcohols can be practicable discriminators for SV discrimination.
