Globalization of our seafood supply, the lack of international standards, and the numerous reported instances of fraudulent labeling of seafood products has reduced consumer confidence in seafood across the country. In addition, concerns of this rampant mislabeling of seafood products, which could lead to seafood safety issues, have prompted many to look at traceability as a means to track seafood and restore confidence in the seafood supply. "Traceability" is defined as the ability to trace the history, application, or location of a product which is under consideration. While not a new concept, identifying the origin and history of seafood products is difficult. At this time, product recall procedures and mandatory documentation are the only form of product traceability in the U.S. Shrimp has been one of the most popular and most consumed seafood items in the U.S. for many years. Currently, close to 90% of the shrimp marketed and consumed in the U.S. is imported. The primary goal of this project is the development of an analytical tool to provide shrimp traceability efforts a more science based foundation. In addition, an analytical tool to determine the geographical origins of shrimp in commerce will lend credence to mandatory Country of Labeling of shrimp and aid in the detection and prevention of transshipment of shrimp to avoid import or custom duties. Preliminary data strongly suggests that due to the inherent differences in the geology and water chemistry found in distinct marine environments, it is possible to trace a shrimp back to its origin. The unique elemental profiles of the shells and meat provide solid and significant statistical data that forms the basis of the method. This approach has been successfully applied to establish the harvest origins of salmon. It is our intent to extend and modify this approach to shrimp in order to develop a new tool that can be used for establishing the traceability of shrimp to a geographic origin. The tools and methods developed will be commercially available for use in Federal, State, public and private laboratories. This work also has potential to serve as the platform technology for developing traceability methods and protocols for other foods in commerce. OBJECTIVES: In this Phase I project we propose to further develop and validate a foundational tool and testing method that will enable the traceability of shrimp based on their unique elemental profile for establishing geographic origin of product. Such a method will support traceability efforts of shrimp throughout food distribution channels. We will utilize the highly sensitive technique of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to establish trace elemental profiles inherent in the shells and tissue of the shrimp. Our proposed testing method will couple this powerful analytical chemistry tool for geographic identification with our molecular genetics capabilities for species identification. The overall objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive method utilizing genetically-validated shrimp standards to establish a method for determining the geographic origins of from various harvest locations or regions. The proposed geographic testing method will be developed for the elemental content of shrimp shells as well as the meat using a laser ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concept is based on inherent differences in the geology and water chemistry found in distinct marine environments, that then make it possible to trace a shrimp back to its origin of harvest. We have preliminary suggesting the unique elemental profiles of the shells can provide solid and significant statistical data that forms the basis of the method. This approach has been successfully applied to establish the harvest origins of salmon and other fish. Therefore, it is our intent to extend and modify this approach to shrimp in order to develop a new tool that can be used for establishing the traceability of shrimp to a geographic origin. In Phase I, we will procure and authenticate shrimp samples to establish the genetic identification for all our shrimp reference standards used. With these standards in hand, trace elemental profiles from both the shell and meat of geographically-defined shrimp standards will be established using an ICP-MS methodology. This project is designed to duplicate and expand our preliminary pilot study by utilizing a larger number of shrimp per sample set and analyzing an additional aquacultured species from Mexico that industry representatives recognize as being the most frequent product found to be fraudulently mislabeled as wild American shrimp. This proposed study will provide the necessary scientific foundation for determining the geographic origin of shrimp and lead to a comprehensive testing method that will ultimately protect the integrity of shrimp in U.S. commerce. In addition, the testing method and tools evaluated in this feasibility study with shrimp can be expanded for potential use with other seafood commodities
