Isotopes Don’t Lie, differentiating organic from conventional banana (Musa AAA, Cavendish subgroup) fruits using C and N stable isotopes

• Published in: Food chemistry Vol. 394; p. 133491
• Main Authors: Tixier, Philippe, Loeillet, Denis, Coulis, Mathieu, Lescot, Thierry, de Lapeyre de Bellaire, Luc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15-11-2022
• Subjects: Authentication; Fertilization; Isotope ratio mass spectrometry; Stable isotopes; Fertilization; Stable isotopes; Authentication; Isotope ratio mass spectrometry
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.133491

•Isotopic values of green bananas from four countries were analyzed.•δ15N was higher for organic banana than for conventional ones.•δ13C was not altered by the type of fertilization.•Benchmarking δ15N in each region is needed for a standardized detection procedure.
With the dramatic increase of organic banana production worldwide, it is essential to be able to monitor compliance with organic specifications. While the detection of pesticide fraud is routinely controlled by detecting pesticide residues in organic bananas, the detection of fertilizer fraud is much more complex. We compared the δ13C and δ15N isotopic values of green bananas from organic and conventional farms at seven sites around the world. In our whole dataset, the δ15N values of banana fruits ranged between −1.25 and + 8.91‰. In all sites, δ15N values of organic banana were significantly higher than conventional fruits (mean value of + 5.24‰ and + 2.342‰, respectively). Conversely, the type of fertilization did not significantly alter δ13C values. Our results suggest that it is possible, upon arrival in importing countries, to differentiate bananas grown with synthetic fertilizer from those grown with organic fertilizer.