Occurrence of mislabelling in prepared fishery products in Southern Italy

Abstract

Fish authentication is a major concern not only for the prevention of commercial fraud, but also for the assessment of safety risks deriving from the undeclared introduction of potentially dangerous toxic or allergenic substances or environmentally damaging fish where endangered species are involved. Moreover, food authentication might affect the diet of certain groups of consumers, such as followers of religious practices. Considering the authentication of fish products is one of the key issues in food safety, quality and sustainability, the aim of this work was to investigate the prevalence of mislabelling in sole (Solea solea), plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and hake (Merluccius merluccius) fillets from markets and supermarkets located in Apulia (Southern Italy) using DNA barcoding. The results of the molecular investigations reveal that 42/98 (42.8%) fillet samples were not correctly labelled. In particular, 12/27 (44.4%) fillets of sole (Solea solea) were identified as belonging to Solea senegalensis. In addition, 13/28 (46.4%) plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) samples were identified as Pangasius hypophtalmus. All Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) samples were correctly labelled. Post-sequencing data analysis revealed that 17/30 (56.6%) hake fillets (Merluccius merluccius) were not correctly labelled, of which 8/30 samples identified as Merluccius hubbsi, 5/30 samples as Merluccius products and 4/30 as Merluccius capensis. The study reveals a high occurrence of species mislabelling in the prepared fish fillet products, further evidence of the need for increased traceability and assessment of the authenticity of food products.

Discrimination between freshwater and marine fish using fatty acids: ecological implications and future perspectives

“…A small survey on the prevalence of mislabelling of fish fillets from markets and supermarkets in southern Italy was conducted in 2015 (Tantillo et al, 2015). Overall, 42.8 percent of fillets (sole, plaice, salmon and hake) were mislabelled, with 46.4 percent of plaice fillets being substituted with pangasius.…”

Effect of Stocking Density on the Performance of Juvenile Gurami Sago (Osphronemus goramy) in the Synthetic Sheet Pond

“…Several major studies in recent years have shown significant amounts of mislabelling (Oceana, 2016;Pardo, Jiménez and Pérez-Villarreal, 2016), affecting between 20 and 30 percent of fish sampled, from various parts of the marketing chain. More specific studies (among many) found mislabelling of 75 percent of red snapper in the United States of America (Marko et al, 2004); 41 percent of fish at retail level in Canada (Hanner et al, 2011); and 43 percent of fillets in southern Italy (Tantillo et al, 2015).…”

Review of Recent DNA-Based Methods for Main Food-Authentication Topics

“…The substitution of an animal or plant species of high commercial value with a cheaper, lower-quality one is a common fraud in the food industry, appearing in all branches from meat, seafood, and dairy products to food of plant origin, such as oils and juices. Accordingly, elevated mislabeling levels have been continuously published: 57% in processed meat products and 42.8% in fish fillets sold in Italy, 9,10 up to 35% in meat products sold in the United States, 11 24.4% in prawns and shrimps, 12 and up to 80% in dairy products. 13 Meat is particularly susceptible to fraudulent substitution by less valuable meat or meat coming from domestic animals.…”