Researchers at Sydney universities are working on the application of handheld XRF scanners (traditionally used for rock or mineral analysis) to the classification of seafood origin by multi-element analysis with chemometric profiling. The goal is a point-of-use technique that can be applied to fresh seafood and give a result within a few minutes. Origin verification has a high public profile because the Australian government have signalled their intent to introduce mandatory country of origin labelling on fish and seafood. The researchers published a proof of concept study in July using tiger prawns. It is now reported that they are working with Sydney Fish Market to build a database of authentic samples to underpin a wider roll-out of the test.
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