NIST researchers developed salmon and shrimp reference materials to help food inspectors assess whether imported salmon and shrimp are authentic. To make the reference materials, researchers obtained samples, cut them into small pieces, and processed them via cryomill where they are ground down and cooled with liquid nitrogen at the same time.
Credit: D. Ellisor/NIST
At your local supermarket, you can usually find all sorts of seafood on display, but it’s sometimes hard to know if it’s correctly labeled. If you purchase seafood marked as wild-caught salmon, for example, how do you know that you’re not actually getting cheaper farm-raised salmon, or even an entirely different kind of fish?
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are helping to address this concern with new salmon and shrimp reference materials — fresh-frozen samples of seafood that have been thoroughly ground down into a mixture and meticulously measured. In addition to being useful for industrial food labs, the reference materials will help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agencies assess whether imported salmon and shrimp are authentic.
NIST researchers obtained farm-raised coho salmon from an aquaculture facility in Washington state. They worked with NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center Forensic Laboratory to get wild-caught coho salmon off the coast of Alaska. The samples were sent to Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina.
Credit: D. Ellisor/NIST
“There was interest expressed by stakeholders, including customs officials, about the authenticity of seafood products. When we receive imported goods, how do we know they are what they claim to be?” said NIST biologist Debra Ellisor.
NIST researchers chose salmon and shrimp because they are among the
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