This European Standard specifies an isotopic method to control the authenticity of vinegar. This method is applicable on acetic acid of vinegar (from wine, cider, agricultural alcohol, etc.) in order to characterise the botanical origin of acetic acid and to detect adulterations of vinegar using synthetic acetic acid or acetic acid from a non-allowed origin (together with the method described in FprEN 16466-2).
The isotopic analysis of the extracted acetic acid by 2H-NMR is based on a similar method already normalised for wine analysis [2].
The application to complex matrices made with vinegar as an ingredient, such as balsamic vinegar, is out of the scope of the inter-laboratory validation performed.