Characterization of Vegetables by Stable Isotopic and Elemental Signatures

109 Romanian parsley, celery and parsnip root, cucumber, vegetable marrow, onion, and pepper samples were characterized by their stable isotope ratios and elemental concentrations in comparison to imported varieties. Organic and conventional agriculture practices were also compared as well as a differentiation between eggplant and peppers grown in greenhouses and those in the field. H-2 values were between -70.8 and 5.6 parts per thousand, while the O-18 values were between -9.0 and 4.1 parts per thousand. The N-15 values for white onions were from 2.8 to 11.1 parts per thousand. For Romanian organic onions, the carbon isotopic values were lower (-29.2 to -28.2 parts per thousand) compared to conventional onions from other countries (-27.8 parts per thousand to -23.8%). Linear discriminant analysis was used to characterize agricultural practices and the geographic origin of the vegetables.