Sunday, November 10, 2013

What kind of fish is it?


Counterfeiting food is a surprisingly big problem in first world countries these days.  (Problems that I'm sure seem pretty minor to people on the other side of the developing/developed boundary...)  The problem was highlighted on a segment of 'This American Life' a while back when they investigated restaurants serving hog rectums in lieu of calamari.

In a much less gross analysis, a paper in this month's MCP demonstrates an ability to distinguish between different fish by MS/MS analysis by comparing spectral libraries in bulk.  The work by Tune Wulff et al., demonstrates a method by which commercially available fish can be distinguished, even when the muscle has been heavily processed.

To be perfectly honest, this one only caught my eye because I liked the abstract illustration:


And if you've read this so far, I invite you to watch the Fish Slapping Dance!

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