Authenticity testing of environment-friendly Korean rice (Oryza sativa L.) using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratio analysis.

The increasing demand for organic foods creates, in turn, a pressing need for the development of more accurate tools for the authentication of organic food in order to ensure both fair trade and food safety. This study examines the feasibility of δC and δN analyses as potential tools for authentication of environment-friendly rice sold in Korea. δC and δN examination in different rice grains showed that environment-friendly rice can be successfully distinguished from conventional rice. No multi-residue pesticides were detected in the examined rice samples, including conventional rice. This study demonstrates the complementary feasibility of δC and δN analyses for the authentication of environment-friendly rice sold in Korea in cases where pesticide residue analysis alone is insufficient for discrimination of organic and conventional rice. In future, complementary analyses including compound-specific isotope ratio analysis might be employed for improving the reliability of organic authentication.