The Institute of Food Technologists on Wednesday published a report in which two Oregon State University researchers analyzed the numerous methods of identifying seafood species using DNA.
The 154-page study was conducted by Rosalee Rasmussen of OSU's Seafood Laboratory and Michael Morrissey of OSU's Food Innovation Center.
"Application of DNA-Based Methods to Identify Fish and Seafood Substitution on the Commercial Market," ran in the April issue of the peer-reviewed Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.
The researchers said that species substitution is a common form of economic fraud in the seafood trade and that DNA technology is a useful way to identify seafood species.
DNA-based methods run the gamut from quick, low-cost tests for routine regulatory screening to intensive, time-consuming tests for forensic purposes. Among the methods the researchers reviewed is DNA barcoding, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking at employing to identify seafood species.
Rasmussen and Morrissey concluded that while progress has been made in the field, there is a definite need for increased coordination of research efforts to improve and standardize DNA-based methods for seafood species identification.
April 15, 2009
