ELECTROPHORETIC TECHNIQUES FOR SPECIES IDENTIFICATION OF FISHERY PRODUCTS

At the present time species identification of fishery products is mainly performed by electrophoresis; in most cases isoelectric focusing (IEF) is given preference over other electrophoretic techniques. In this review the possibilities of application of IEF and other electrophoretic methods for analysis of raw, dried, salted, smoked, ripened, cooked or canned fish are discussed. It is shown that the protein patterns may be influenced by the type of muscle (light or dark), the freshness of fish or fillet, and by the conditions of frozen storage. Reference samples must often be used to obtain unequivocal results. A protein dry powder is introduced, which has been prepared from the sarcoplasmic fraction of many fish species yielding species-specific protein patterns. The powder is stable at room temperature and can be shipped without cooling. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.