Development of a DNA-based method aimed at identifying the fish species present in food products

Analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profiles of a 4 64 bp amplicon obtained from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was used t o differentiate between several different fish species. The method was test ed by a collaborative study in which 12 European laboratories participated to ascertain whether the method was reproducible. Each laboratory was requi red to identify 10 unknown samples by comparison with RFLP profiles from au thentic species. From a total of 120 tests performed, unknown samples were correctly identified in 96% of cases. Further work attempting to use the me thod to analyze mixed and processed fish samples was also performed. In all cases the species contained within mixed samples were correctly identified , indicating:the efficacy of the method for detecting fraudulent substituti on of fish species in food products.