The demand for organically produced food is rising. Since these can be sold at higher prices than corresponding conventionlly produced goods, the risk of fraud is increasing. This requires suitable analytical methods to distinguish biologically produced foods from conventionally produced foods.

Monika Hohmann, Norbert Christoph, Helmut Wachter, Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (LGL), Würzburg, and Ulrike Holzgrabe, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany, have tested tomatoes and found that in general ¹H-NMR in combination with multivariate data analysis methods is suitable for differentiation of biologically and conventionally produced foods.

In addition, the team has used isotope mass spectrometry, FTIR spectroscopy, and amino acid analytics and plans to develop optimized differentiation models by combining these different analytical methods.

• Bio oder nicht – lassen sich die produkte durch ¹H-NMR-Spektroskopie unterscheiden?,
  Monika Hohmann, Norbert Christoph, Helmut Wachter, Ulrike Holzgrabe,
  Chem. Unserer Zeit 2015, 49, 6–12.
  DOI: 10.1002/ciuz.201480017