Organic Testing in New Zealand

"A senior researcher at GNS Science has come up with a test that can verify if vegetables in the supermarket have been grown organically. Karyne Rogers of GNS Science’s Stable Isotope Laboratory in Lower Hutt said the method was an inexpensive way to verify the organic status of vegetables by distinguishing between vegetables grown with organic or industrially made fertilisers.

A criteria in growing organic vegetables is that only organic fertiliser, usually animal manure, is used. As vegetables grow, they incorporate nitrogen from the fertiliser and it is this nitrogen which is analysed. The nitrogen isotope signatures of animal manure and industrial fertiliser are quite different. "It's an independent check on the growing regime. As far as I am aware, this is the first simple reliable test for organic vegetables", Dr Rogers said."

Read the article