Abstract Near infrared spectra were collected of potato crisps from potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars 'Whitu' and 'Fianna'. Pattern recognition techniques were used to classify the spectra. Linear discriminant analysis performed as well as piecewise linear discriminant analysis in identifying the potato tuber variety used to produce the potato crisps. The success rate in separating the spectra into respective classes using discriminant analysis is 93%. This suggests that it is possible to use near infrared analysis for the purpose of identifying different cultivars in single batches of potato crisps. Key words: WhituFiannapiecewise linear discriminant analysisclassification