The demand for organic produce is growing all over the world and unscrupulous traders try to pass of conventionally grown produce as organic as this fetches them a higher rate when compared to the conventional produce.
British scientists are developing a new test that could help identify fraudulently labeled organic food. Organic farming methods ban the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and the new test being developed is to find whether synthetic nitrogen fertilizers were used to grow the produce.
While there a number of tests that can pick up residues of synthetic pesticides from the produce the new test being developed by scientists from University of East Anglia in Norwich is based on testing the foods’ nitrogen isotope composition.
What this means is that conventionally grown produce contain nitrogen isotopes in a particular ratio when synthetic fertilizers are used. Based on this composition the isotope test could tell whether the organic produce is fraudulently labeled.
The scientists also say that this test cannot say for certain whether synthetic fertilizers were used but can only determine whether it is “unlikely” or “highly unlikely” that a food with a particular nitrogen isotope composition would have been grown without synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and will not be successful for all kinds of produce.
Lyn Austin of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia, one of Australia’s certifiers of organic produce, says
A test for synthetic nitrogen would be a useful extra test option where there is suspicion,” she said. “But the test on its own per se cannot be thought of as a replacement for organic certification and inspection
