Littérature MRAC publiée ailleurs

Gombeer, S.,  Breugelmans, K.,  Meganck, K.,  Smitz, N.,  Van Bourgonie, Y R.,  De Meyer, M. & Backeljau, T. 2019. ‘Seafood on the Belgian market: do you get what you are paying for?’. 8th International Barcode of Life Conference. Book of abstracts.

Résumé de colloque

Background: Compared to other European countries, Belgian customers are moderate consumers of fish and seafood products. The Belgian fishery and aquaculture sectors, however, are relatively small and a large part (81% in 2016) of the fish and seafood consumed in Belgium is imported, half of which originates from outside Europe. Since the scale of the international trade increases the potential for (un)intentional misidentification and/or deliberate fraud through species substitution, we examine the correctness of the labelling of a number of seafood products on the Belgian market. The study focusses on shellfish, cephalopods, and crayfish. Results: Samples were identified by DNA barcoding and the resulting DNA-based identifications were compared with the information on the commercial labels. Preliminary results indicate that there are large differences in the frequency of mislabelling between the different taxa investigated, as well as when considering packaging (sold individually or as part of a seafood cocktail) or treatment (e.g. fresh, frozen, cooked). Significance: More stringent regulation on foodstuff labelling is supposed to protect consumers and the seafood industry from (un)intentional mislabelling. However, several studies worldwide indicate that (un)intentional misidentification and/or deliberate fraud through species substitution is common practice, especially for processed products which lack characterizing morphological features. It also seems that the scale as well as the product most prone to mislabelling differs by country. The present survey, therefore aims to identify the level of mislabelling for seafood products sold in Belgium.