Stable isotope and elemental profiles determine geographical origin of saffron from China and Iran

•Saffron as a high value spice is prone to mislabeling of origin.•Stable isotopes and bioelements are used to discriminate Iranian and Chinese saffron.•Chemometric models show good country and regional discrimination of saffron. Origin verification of high-value saffron is essential for fair trade and to protect consumers' interests and rights. A traceability method using elemental content (% C and % N) and stable isotopes (δ13C, δ2H, δ18O, and δ15N) combined with chemometrics was developed to discriminate saffron from Iran and China and classify major domestic production areas in China. Results showed that Iranian samples had lower % C and % N contents but higher δ13C values than Chinese origin saffron, with δ13C acting as an important variable for origin discrimination. Moreover, δ2H and δ13C isotopes were found to be important variables to classify Chinese regional saffron origin. Two supervised pattern recognition models (PLS-DA) developed to classify Iranian and Chinese saffron, and regional Chinese saffron had a discrimination accuracy of 85.0 % and 80.2 %, respectively. These models provide the basis for a new regulatory inspection procedure to verify saffron origin and label claims, minimizing fraudulent mislabeling and adding value to saffron from specific regions.