Foods 2016, 5(3), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods5030047
A Rapid Colorimetric Method Reveals Fraudulent Substitutions in Sea Urchin Roe Marketed in Sardinia (Italy)
1
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy
2
Dispatch centre “Superfresco Luca”, Agglom. Ind. San Marco, 07041, Alghero (SS), Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Saskia van Ruth and Daniel Granato
Received: 18 May 2016 / Revised: 17 June 2016 / Accepted: 18 June 2016 / Published: 25 June 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Identity, Authenticity and Fraud: The Full Spectrum)
Abstract
In recent years, besides the consumption of fresh sea urchin specimens, the demand of minimally-processed roe has grown considerably. This product has made frequent consumption in restaurants possible and frauds are becoming widespread with the partial replacement of sea urchin roe with surrogates that are similar in colour. One of the main factors that determines the quality of the roe is its colour and small differences in colour scale cannot be easily discerned by the consumers. In this study we have applied a rapid colorimetric method for reveal the fraudulent partial substitution of semi-solid sea urchin roe with liquid egg yolk. Objective assessment of whiteness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), hue (h*), and chroma (C*) was carried out with a digital spectrophotometer using the CIE L*a*b* colour measurement system. The colorimetric method highlighted statistically significant differences among sea urchin roe and liquid egg yolk that could be easily discerned quantitatively. View Full-TextKeywords:
sea urchin; roe; product replacement; egg yolk; colour
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Meloni, D.; Spina, A.; Satta, G.; Chessa, V. A Rapid Colorimetric Method Reveals Fraudulent Substitutions in Sea Urchin Roe Marketed in Sardinia (Italy). Foods 2016, 5, 47.
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