The science behind verification
Multi-element analysis (MEA)
Multi-element analysis measures very small quantities of chemical elements in a sample. Because plants absorb these elements from the soil as they grow, the resulting patterns can vary across landscapes according to location.
Stable Isotopes analysis (SIRA)
Stable isotopes are forms of the same element with different atomic weights. This affects how they are distributed across landscapes through rainfall and other environmental processes.
Ground-truth reference samples are the foundation
Ground-truthed reference samples are the foundation
World Forest ID collects georeferenced reference samples from forests and farms around the world. These samples are gathered through standardised protocols designed to preserve chain of custody, protect metadata integrity and ensure that material is suitable for a broad range of scientific techniques. This reference collection creates the scientific baseline for origin verification.
Turning chemical reference data into origin models
Chemical results from reference samples are combined with environmental and earth observation data to build peer-reviewed spatial origin models. These models help interpret chemical variation across species ranges and landscapes with greater granularity, including in areas where physical samples have not yet been collected. This approach is supported by published, peer-reviewed research, including World Forest ID’s Nature Plants paper.
Testing claimed origin
by comparison
To test a product’s declared harvest origin, a laboratory measures the same chemistry in a traded sample. Those results are then compared against World Forest ID reference data to assess whether the sample is consistent with the claimed location. The Evaluation Platform generates an evaluation report based on independent chemical and spatial evidence, using standardised methods that support comparable results across laboratories.
