In 2015, our scientists successfully completed a study that analysed key environmental markers to determine if crabs fished across several bays could be verified to their bay of origin using trace element analysis.
The Details
Food fraud involving crab is a significant issue impacting consumer trust and the seafood industry. These fraudulent activities are typically characterised by the mislabeling and misrepresentation of crab products.
Studies reveal that a substantial portion of crab meat sold internationally is mislabeled, with some estimates indicating up to 40% of products are fraudulently marketed. These deceptive practices often involve substituting higher-value species with cheaper alternatives, damaging consumers’ trust. This also has severe economic implications, including undermining sustainable fishing efforts and harming legitimate businesses. The complexity of the global supply chain and inadequate enforcement of labelling regulations exacerbate the issue, highlighting the need for stricter controls and improved scientific-based verification measures.
Scientific origin verification
Source Certain utilised trace element analysis to determine a unique chemical profile, or ‘chemical fingerprint’, for a reference sample of a physical product. The fingerprint can be referenced at a later point to verify an origin claim for a product claiming to come from the same location as the original sample.
Outcomes
- The Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus Armatus) is found along the entire coastline of Western Australia and in a wide range of inshore and continental shelf zones, from the intertidal area to waters more than 50m deep.
- The program has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using advanced technology to trace and verify the origins of various seafood products, ensuring authenticity and quality for consumers.
- Bay-level origin verification was the priority for this program. The established database offers the basis to further build capability for verification when undertaking in-market testing.
- Large-scale data would allow for verification of both origin and species. This is a cheaper and faster alternative to DNA testing.
This study was supported by research conducted by Source Certain scientists in the late 2000’s.
Watling, R. J., et al. (2010). The Application of Solution and Laser Ablation Based ICP-MS and Solution Based AES for the Provenance Determination of Selected Food and Drink Produce. The Open Chemical and Biomedical Methods Journal, 3, 179-196.
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