title: 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 toSolea senegalensis. In addition, 13/28 (46.4%) plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) samples were identified asPangasius 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 asMerluccius hubbsi, 5/30 samples asMerluccius productsand 4/30 asMerluccius 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.
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Giuseppina
authors: G
authors: Tantillo
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Patrizia
authors: P
authors: Marchetti
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Mottola
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Valentina
authors: V
authors: Terio
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Marilisa
authors: M
authors: Bottaro
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Elisabetta
authors: E
authors: Bonerba
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Giancarlo
authors: G
authors: Bozzo
authors: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari , Italy.
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Di Pinto
keywords: DNA barcoding; Mislabelling; Prepared fish products; Southern Italy