COMMERCIAL FISH SPECIES IDENTIFICATION WITH ISOELECTRIC FOCUSING: APPLICATION TO BREADED FISH PRODUCTS [IDENTIFICATION DES ESPÈCES COMMERCIALES AVEC LA FOCALISATION ISOÉLECTRIQUE: APPLICATION AUX PRODUITS DE LA PÊCHE] by/par

The globalization of fish and fishery products markets combined with the increase of consumer demand lead to a huge variety of non-endemic fish species in the marketplace. This might raise concerns about the inability of fish inspectors to distinguish fish species with similar morphological characteristics, particularly when they are processed and sold as fillets or slices in the country of origin, and to detect fish substitution, a practice where high value species are mislabeled and/or substituted in whole or in part with low value, species or products with potential toxins. Several biochemical methods have been developed in order to identify fish species. The isoelectric focusing (IEF) of the water soluble sarcoplasmic proteins proved to be suitable, fast and reliable. A project funded by the Italian Agricultural Ministry aimed at identifying fish species with IEF has recently been concluded. The results demonstrated the suitability of the method in identifying most of the commercial fish species. The database developed contains the patterns of more than 250 fish species, and the software is able to compare the IEF patterns and identify unknown species. In the present paper we show the application of the IEF method to semicooked products in order to demonstrate the usefulness of the method also in the identification of species used in breaded fish products (breaded fish fingers and fillets). The importance and advantages of using the IEF technique in the African fish industry exporting to Europe in the context of self-control and certification program are also highligthed.