[Animals] Research by the University of Chile detected the presence of shark meat in the albacore trade

[FNX Magokiler]

The price per kilo should be higher than 4,500 pesos to be certain of the species.

The albacore trade in the city of Santiago illegally includes shark meat, according to an investigation by the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the University of Chile, which reviewed different marketing points for sea products in the capital.

The discovery was made through the DNA barcode technique (DNA Barcoding), to identify the species offered in commerce under the name of albacore or "albacorilla" and determine the authenticity of the product or the existence of fraud.

The team was made up of academics Pablo Dufflocq, veterinary doctor and doctoral candidate in Forestry, Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences; María Angélica Larraín, Food Engineer and Doctor in Food Science and Technology; and Cristián Araneda, biologist and doctor in Biomedical Sciences; grouped in the Food Quality Research Center (FQRC).

In the study, which included 47 samples taken from fishmongers, free fairs and supermarkets, two types of fraud were detected. On the one hand, there is the substitution of species, which consists of selling a species other than "swordfish" under that name; and on the other, incorrect labeling, which implies the use of unofficial names such as "albacorilla".

The authors reported the presence of such fraudulent incidents in fishmongers and free fairs, but not in supermarkets; and it was determined that the sale price of albacore is directly related to this irregular situation; a value below 3,150 pesos per kilo was associated with a 50% probability of fraud.

 

 

"If you want to be more certain of buying albacore and not shark, the price per kilo should be higher than 4,500 pesos," said Dufflocq.

The DNA analysis, in addition to albacore (Xiphias gladius), detected within the commercialization -under the name of albacore or "albacorilla"- of two species of sharks that are under threat: the Mako shark or Mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) and the shark Porbeagle (Lamna nasus).

The authors emphasized that it is necessary to promote consumer education and improve the regulation of the labeling of seafood products; but they also propose the use of molecular methods to control the correct identification of the species that are commercialized.

"In this way, food fraud and the fishing and commercialization of species with conservation problems are discouraged," emphasized Larraín.

"From the FQRC we are working to have more information and give more transparency to the shark market in particular and chondrichthyans (sharks and rays) in general," added Araneda.

 

https://www.cooperativa.cl/noticias/pais/medioambiente/animales/investigacion-de-la-u-de-chile-detecto-presencia-de-carne-de-tiburon-en/2022-05-17/153040.html