Abstract
Geographic food fraud – misrepresenting the geographic origin of a food item, is very difficult to detect, and therefore this type of fraud tends to go undetected. This potentially negatively impacts the health of Canadians and economic success of our seafood industry. Surveillance studies have shown that up to a significant portion of commercially sold seafood items in Canada are mislabeled or otherwise misrepresented in some way. The current study aimed to determine if the microbiome of fresh shellfish could be used as an accurate marker of harvest location. Total DNA was extracted from the homogenate of 25 batches of fresh soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) harvested in 2015 and 2018 from two locations on the East Coast of Canada and the microbiome of each homogenate was characterized using 16S rRNA targeted amplicon sequencing. Clams harvested from Nova Scotia in both years had a higher abundance of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria (p < 0.05), but a lower abundance of Actinobacteria (p < 0.05) than those from Quebec. Alpha-diversity also differed significantly between sites. Samples harvested from Nova Scotia had greater diversity (p < 0.0001) than those from Quebec. Beta-diversity analysis showed that the microbial community composition was significantly different between the samples from Nova Scotia and Quebec and indicated that 16S rRNA targeted amplicon sequencing might be an effective tool for elucidating the geographic origin of unprocessed shellfish. To evaluate if the microbiome of shellfish experiences a loss of microbial diversity during processing and storage – which would limit the ability of this technique to link retail samples to geographic origin, 10 batches of retail clams purchased from grocery stores were also examined. Microbial diversity and species richness was significantly lower in retail clams, and heavily dominated by Proteobacteria, a typical spoilage organism for fresh seafood, this may make determining the geographic origin of seafood items more difficult in retail clams than in freshly harvested clams.
Highlights
Seafood is one of the most common food categories associated with fraud (Pardo et al, 2016; Van Ruth et al, 2018)
To assess if the composition of the microbiome was significantly different between clams from different geographic origins, 25 batches of fresh clams were harvested from either Quebec or Nova scotia
linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis showed that Proteobacteria was the phylum that contributed most to the distinction in the microbiome community between clams harvested from different sites in both 2015 and 2018 (Figures 3A,B)
Summary
Seafood is one of the most common food categories associated with fraud (Pardo et al, 2016; Van Ruth et al, 2018). International laws entitle consumers to know the identity of the species, the geographical origin, and the production method (caught or farmed) for all categories of seafood (Chatterjee et al, 2019). Seafood fraud includes any type of intentional mislabeling that misleads the consumer about any of these parameters. The consequences of producing mislabeled seafood are broad but can include human health risks, economic losses, and undermining sustainability efforts. Atlantic salmon mislabeled as sockeye salmon, which is preferred by customers due to its delicate flavor and texture, results in consumers paying more for a less valuable product (Oceana Canada, 2018)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
