Application of Spectroscopic-Based Techniques in Seafood Authentication

The availability and sale of seafood have grown significantly over the past few decades, and there is the possibility of marketing fraudulent fish and fishery products. Seafood fraud is a global concern, affecting the conservation of marine resources and leading to significant drops in consumer confidence. Additionally, it complicates marine conservation planning and poses potential public health risks. As a result, ensuring the safety and authenticity of seafood is crucial. As it stands, determining the safety and authenticity of seafood has grown to be a big problem. There is, therefore, a need to authenticate seafood along the value chain to ensure food safety. Spectroscopy-based techniques or approaches have been routinely used to identify and stop seafood fraud. As a result, the goal of this study is to provide the most recent information on the use of spectroscopy-based approaches for seafood species authentication. This review provides important information on spectroscopy-based techniques applied to authenticate seafood. This review reveals that seafood can be authenticated using near-infrared, mid-infrared, Raman, ultraviolet-visible, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The complexity of the sample matrices, variations in the sample properties, spectral interferences, need for calibration models, requirements for specialized equipment, limited spectral range, expertise in data analysis, and limited sensitivity are the challenges and limitations of spectroscopy in seafood authentication. Going forward, there is a need to integrate multiple techniques, develop portable instruments, and apply big data and machine learning.