Chilean Salmon Sushi: Genetics Reveals Product Mislabeling and a Lack of Reliable Information at the Point of Sale

Prida, Valentina; Sepúlveda, Maritza; Quezada-Romegialli, Claudio; Harrod, Chris; Gomez-Uchida, Daniel; Cid, Beatriz; Canales-Aguirre, Cristian B.

doi:10.3390/foods9111699

Open AccessCommunication

Chilean Salmon Sushi: Genetics Reveals Product Mislabeling and a Lack of Reliable Information at the Point of Sale

by

Valentina Prida

^1,2,

Maritza Sepúlveda

^2,3

,

Claudio Quezada-Romegialli

^2,4

,

Chris Harrod

^2,5

,

Daniel Gomez-Uchida

^2,6

,

Beatriz Cid

^2,7 and

Cristian B. Canales-Aguirre

^1,2,*

¹

Centro i~mar, Universidad de Los Lagos, Puerto Montt 5480000, Chile

²

Núcleo Milenio de Salmónidos Invasores (INVASAL), Concepción 4030000, Chile

³

Centro de Investigación y Gestión de Recursos Naturales (CIGREN), Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile

⁴

Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Universidad de Valparaíso, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile

⁵

Instituto de Ciencias Naturales Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta 1271155, Chile

⁶

Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070032, Chile

⁷

Departamento de Sociología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070032, Chile

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Foods 2020, 9(11), 1699; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111699

Submission received: 19 October 2020 / Revised: 14 November 2020 / Accepted: 16 November 2020 / Published: 19 November 2020

(This article belongs to the Section Food Quality and Safety)

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Abstract

Species diagnosis is essential to assess the level of mislabeling or misnamed seafood products such as sushi. In Chile, sushi typically includes salmon as the main ingredient, but species used are rarely declared on the menu. In order to identify which species are included in the Chilean sushi market, we analyzed 84 individual sushi rolls sold as “salmon” from sushi outlets in ten cities across Chile. Using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism protocol (PCR-RFLP), we identified mislabeled and misnamed products. Atlantic salmon was the most common salmonid fish used in sushi, followed by coho salmon, rainbow trout, and Chinook salmon. We found a total of 23% and 18% of the products were mislabeled and misnamed, respectively. In 64% of cases, the salesperson selling the product could not identify the species. We also identified the use of wild-captured Chinook salmon samples from a naturalized population. Our results provide a first indication regarding species composition in Chilean sushi, a quantification of mislabeling and the level of misinformation declared by sales people to consumers. Finally, considering that Chinook salmon likely originates from a non-licensed origin and that sushi is an uncooked product, proper identification in the food production chain may have important consequences for the health of consumers.

Keywords: cyt b; DNA authentication; fish; aquaculture; salmonids; mislabeled; misnamed

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MDPI and ACS Style

Prida, V.; Sepúlveda, M.; Quezada-Romegialli, C.; Harrod, C.; Gomez-Uchida, D.; Cid, B.; Canales-Aguirre, C.B. Chilean Salmon Sushi: Genetics Reveals Product Mislabeling and a Lack of Reliable Information at the Point of Sale. Foods 2020, 9, 1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111699

AMA Style

Prida V, Sepúlveda M, Quezada-Romegialli C, Harrod C, Gomez-Uchida D, Cid B, Canales-Aguirre CB. Chilean Salmon Sushi: Genetics Reveals Product Mislabeling and a Lack of Reliable Information at the Point of Sale. Foods. 2020; 9(11):1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111699

Chicago/Turabian Style

Prida, Valentina, Maritza Sepúlveda, Claudio Quezada-Romegialli, Chris Harrod, Daniel Gomez-Uchida, Beatriz Cid, and Cristian B. Canales-Aguirre. 2020. "Chilean Salmon Sushi: Genetics Reveals Product Mislabeling and a Lack of Reliable Information at the Point of Sale" Foods 9, no. 11: 1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111699

APA Style

Prida, V., Sepúlveda, M., Quezada-Romegialli, C., Harrod, C., Gomez-Uchida, D., Cid, B., & Canales-Aguirre, C. B. (2020). Chilean Salmon Sushi: Genetics Reveals Product Mislabeling and a Lack of Reliable Information at the Point of Sale. Foods, 9(11), 1699. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111699

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Chilean Salmon Sushi: Genetics Reveals Product Mislabeling and a Lack of Reliable Information at the Point of Sale

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