What is the mislabelling rate in seafood products sold on the Italian market?

A scientific meta-study on recent publications about mislabelling in seafood products sold on the Italian market has recently been presented. Fortunately, we can offer a wide range of tests for the identification of fish species - accredited, of course!             

More than fifty scientific papers published between 2005 and 2022 were examined using pre-determined criteria and data related to sampling and mislabelling were analysed. Samples were categorized according to their taxon (species, family order) or generic market group. It was also differentiated between unprocessed and processed fish and also different distribution channels and geographical areas were registered.

Samples were considered mislabelled if the species found by molecular analysis did not correspond to the information given on the label. With a molecular biology method such as DNA sequencing, the DNA sequence found can be assigned to a fish species and thus misdeclarations can be detected.Overall, about 30% of the products mentioned in the reports were mislabelled - putting Italy at the global average for this type of food fraud.

The full report can be downloaded under the following link (with a charge). Mislabelling in seafood products sold on the Italian market 

The second link guides you to a review article (for free) about how to assess inauthenticity of food. Food inauthenticity

YOUR PLUS: AGROLAB food labs offer fish species determination based on sophisticated and accredited PCR methods for fresh and to a certain extent also applicable to processed/canned fish.

Author: Frank Mörsberger