Combined use of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ13C fingerprinting for origin traceability of scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis, Chlamys farreri, and Argopecten irradians)

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.124966

Food Chemistry

Volume 298, 15 November 2019, 124966

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.124966 Get rights and content

Highlights

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300 training samples and 75 testing samples from seven sites in China were collected.
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The combination of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting was performed.
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The combination of these two methods enhanced the prediction capability (100%).
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The combination of two methods can be a promising tool for traceability of scallops.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the combination of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting to identify the origins of scallops. Fatty acid contents, as well as fatty acid δ¹³C values of 300 samples of three scallop species (Patinopecten yessoensis, Chlamys farreri, and Argopecten irradians) from seven sites in China were determined. Principal component analysis was performed on datasets to evaluate their performance of classification. Moreover, 75 samples were tested by discrimination analysis to estimate the accuracy of origin prediction. The results show that the accuracy rate of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting for origin prediction was 92% and 85.3%, respectively. The combination of these two methods improved the identification, with an accuracy rate of 100.0%. These results indicate that the combination of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting can be a precise and promising tool for origin traceability of scallops.

Introduction

Tracing the geographical origin of seafood is very important, because the consumer is increasingly interested in buying local seafood, which is considered to be of much higher quality (Camin et al., 2018). To protect public health and consumers’ interests, regulations have appeared all over the world (Ortea & Gallardo, 2015). For example, Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 specifies that seafood may not be retailed unless it clearly indicates the commercial name of the species, the production method and the capture/production area (Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 of 17 December on the common organization of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products, 1999). Furthermore, EU Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 requires the traceability of food or food-producing animals to be established at all stages of production, processing, and distribution (Camin et al., 2018). However, Mislabeling of seafood is also common in several markets (Li, Boyd, & Sun, 2016). Studies reported that the USA imported 80% of its seafood and an estimated 30% of the fish and 13% of shellfish sold is mislabeled (Jacquet & Pauly, 2008), and in Australia, about 23% of the barramundi and red emperor was incorrectly labeled (Rochfort, Ezernieks, Maher, Ingram, & Olsen, 2013). Therefore, potential techniques still need to be developed and applied to origin traceability of seafood.

Many different instrumental techniques have been proposed for seafood authentication (Drivelos & Georgiou, 2012): DNA technology (Ibañez & Cifuentes, 2001), Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE; Tatsadjieu et al., 2010), trace element fingerprinting (TEF; Reis-Santos et al., 2012), fatty acid profile (Ricardo et al., 2015), isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS; Ortea & Gallardo, 2015), as well as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), electronic nose (EN) and capillary electrophoresis (Ortea et al., 2012), either independently (Li et al., 2017) or in combination (Molkentin, Lehmann, Ostermeyer, & Rehbein, 2015). Among the methods mentioned above, IRMS is the most frequently used techniques for assessing authenticity and traceability in seafood (Drivelos & Georgiou, 2012). Our previous study demonstrated that stable isotope ratio can discriminate sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) from different geographical origins (Zhang, Liu, Li, & Zhao, 2017). However, the identification effect is not ideal enough as some areas are still indistinguishable. Our finding indicates the limitation of stable isotope composition in the application of authenticating or tracing seafood. As reported, a drawback of bulk isotopes is that environmental factors and diet quality can confound isotope values among different sources and impart variable and relatively poorly constrained isotope fractionations during trophic transfer (Wang et al., 2018). Thus, bulk isotopes provide insufficient group boundaries for tracing origins.

Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA), a new technology based on the development of gas chromatography coupled to a combustion furnace and an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (GC-C-IRMS), which allowed the analysis of individual substances occurring at trace levels in very complex mixtures (Lichtfouse, 2000), may overcome some of the limitations of bulk isotopes. A distinct advantage of CSIA over bulk isotopes is that it is minimally affected by shifts in isotope baseline at the base of most food webs (Larsen et al., 2015), since isotope baselines vary spatially and temporally and it is difficult to infer dietary contributions to consumers from bulk isotope values (Post, 2002). In recent years, CSIA has become a standard tool in ecological studies for tracing the origins and fates of nutrients such as amino acids (Larsen et al., 2013, McMahon et al., 2010) and fatty acids (Reiffarth, Petticrew, Owens, & Lobb, 2016). However, the use of CSIA in tracing the geographical origins of seafood has until now been largely unexplored. Wang et al. (2018) used amino acid δ¹³C fingerprints to trace wild and farmed salmon. They discriminated with high-accuracy among wild-caught, organically, and conventionally farmed salmon groups, as well as salmon fed alternative diets such as insects and macroalgae. In our previous studies, we found stable carbon isotope compositions of fatty acids and amino acids can effectively identify A. japonicas from different geographical origins and different production methods (Liu et al., 2017, Zhao et al., 2018). These studies indicated that CSIA may be a promising method for authentication and traceability of seafood.

The combination of two or more methods is the mainstream of the studying on traceability and authenticity of seafood (Chaguri et al., 2015). Ortea and Gallardo (2015) discriminated that the combination of stable isotope ratio and multi-element analyses can enhance the prediction capabilities of chemometric-data analysis in order to classify shrimp samples into wild/farmed, different geographical origins or even biological species. Our previous study indicated that the combination of stable isotope ratio and fatty acid profile can be a more precise method to distinguish A. japonicus from different geographical origins (Zhang et al., 2017). Fatty acid profile is a recognized and effective method for tracing the geographical origin of seafood (Ricardo et al., 2015). Studies have carried out using fatty acid profile to trace the origin of cockles (Ricardo et al., 2015, Ricardo et al., 2017), which demonstrated that fatty acid profile could be a potential method for tracing the origin of bivalves. We infer that the combination of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting will be a more potential tool for traceability of bivalves.

Molluscan shellfish aquaculture (of which bivalves account for the vast majority) is an expanding, global industry that produced 16 million tonnes (US$19 billion) from marine and coastal habitats of America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania in 2014 (FAO, 2016). China is the largest shellfish producer (FAO, 2016), and scallop is one of the most important shellfish species in China (Guo & Luo, 2016), with a production of 1.44 million tonnes in 2010, accounted for 56% of the world's production (Guo & Luo, 2016). Patinopecten yessoensis, Chlamys farreri, and Argopecten irradians are three main species of scallops distributed in the coastal areas of China. Being filter feeders, these scallops are recognized for their potential to accumulate hazardous substances, e.g. heavy metals, chemical pollutants, and pathogenic microorganisms, depending on the environmental conditions of the seawater in which they live (Ricardo et al., 2015). As we all know, the environmental condition of the Bohai Sea is worse than the Yellow Sea, because the Bohai Sea is more affected by human activities (Zhang, Zhang, Zou, & Yang, 2018). Therefore, the quality of scallops caught in the Yellow Sea is higher than in the Bohai Sea. Meanwhile, the scallops caught in the Yellow Sea are more expensive than in the Bohai Sea. To protect the rights of consumers and maintain the stability of the market, it is necessary to trace the origins of scallops.

In the present study, the fatty acid profiles and the fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprints of three scallop species (P. yessoensis, C. farreri, and A. irradians) were analyzed to evaluate the combined use of these two technologies in identification of geographical origins of scallops. The aim of this study was to establish a new and potential method and provide a theoretical basis for origin traceability of scallops.

Section snippets

Sample collection

Twelve scallop samples were collected at each site in April (spring) and November (autumn) 2016 (Table 1). Among them, A. irradians samples were collected only in autumn of 2016. Sampling locations included Qinhuangdao, Penglai, Rushan, Qingdao, Lvshun, Zhangzidao and Lianyungang (Fig. 1). Among them, Qinhuangdao, Penglai, and Lvshun are located in the Bohai Sea, and Rushan, Qingdao, Zhangzidao, and Lianyungang are located in the Yellow Sea.

The collected scallop samples were grown in local

Fatty acid profiles

Fatty acid profiles of the adductor muscle are primarily determined by environmental conditions and functions of the cellular membrane, rather than short term shifts in dietary regimes (Dalsgaard, St John, Kattner, Müller-Navarra, & Hagen, 2003). Other organs of bivalves, such as gonads and the digestive gland, which display a high metabolic activity, are more prone to be influenced by recent dietary items (Paulet, Lorrain, Richard, & Pouvreau, 2006). Conversely, the adductor muscle exhibits a

Conclusions

These results indicate that the combination of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting can enhance the identification, with the accuracy rates of origin prediction reached 100% for all three scallop species, which represents that the combination of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting can be a precise and promising tool for origin traceability of scallops. The relevant conclusions of this study provide a potential and effective method for tracing the geographical

Declaration of Competing Interest

We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted.

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the National Science & Technology Pillar Program (2015BAD17B05) of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan Period. We especially thank the personnel who helped with the sample collection.

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Combined use of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ13C fingerprinting for origin traceability of scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis, Chlamys farreri, and Argopecten irradians)

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Sample collection

Fatty acid profiles

Conclusions

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgements

Food Chemistry

LWT-Food Science and Technology

Advances in Marine Biology

Trends in Analytical Chemistry

Aquaculture

Developments in Aquaculture and Fisheries Science

Marine Policy

Food Control

Food Chemistry

Food Control

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

Food Chemistry

Organic Geochemistry

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

Marine Chemistry

Science of the Total Environment

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

Food Control

Food Research International

Food Control

Combined use of fatty acid profile and fatty acid δ¹³C fingerprinting for origin traceability of scallops (Patinopecten yessoensis, Chlamys farreri, and Argopecten irradians)