Researchers examined 41 seafood products from 32 commercial establishments across 18 sampling locations in Asturias. Labels did not always comply with European Union requirements, and DNA barcoding found non-native species among products sold as native seafood.
Biology1 week ago
Naked-eye DNA tests spot lobster and clam swaps in northern Spain
Testing found non-native species in some products sold as native lobster and razor clams, including during a restaurant pilot.
What the DNA tests found
Mitochondrial COI barcoding identified the American lobster, Homarus americanus, in 4 of 22 products sold as the native European lobster, Homarus gammarus. Among 19 razor clam products, 5 were mislabeled or substituted with the American species Ensis leei. The researchers developed naked-eye LAMP tests—DNA tests that produce a visible result—for identifying H. gammarus and E. leei. An on-site pilot test in a restaurant also detected seafood fraud.
Why seafood checks matter
Mislabeling and substitution can undermine the identity of seafood products and consumer rights, while also distorting fisheries data used in sustainable fisheries management. The findings suggest that visual DNA tests used at the point of sale could be useful for checking seafood, although the study describes them as a proof of concept.
Evidence and limits
The study combined label checks, laboratory DNA barcoding and naked-eye DNA assays. Its commercial survey covered 41 products from 32 establishments in 18 locations, with 22 lobster products and 19 razor clam products analyzed by barcoding. The restaurant test was a pilot, and the abstract does not provide performance measures such as accuracy across a larger set of samples. The results therefore indicate suspected substitution in the sampled products but do not establish how common seafood fraud is across all of northern Spain.
// Source
Scientific Reports · 2026 · DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-68775-1
Authors: Maria Celenza, Daniel A. Gómez-Lobo, Claudia González‐Toral, Noelia B. Suárez-Sánchez, Ruth Coya, Patricia Alcázar-González, Álvaro Fueyo, María Luisa Fernández-Sánchez, Antonio Torralba‐Burrial, Marı́a Teresa Fernández-Argüelles, Laura Miralles, Trinidad Pérez, Yaisel J. Borrell Pichs
Institutions: Universidad de Oviedo, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources
