Authenticating Production Origin of Wild and Farmed Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) by Infrared Spectroscopy NIRS (Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy).

Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) technique is a secondary analytical technique based on the ability of every chemical compound and complex matrix of absorbing, transmitting and reflecting the infrared radiations. Over the last decade NIRS system has been used in many tests for fish and other food products due to its versatility and rapidity of analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate NIRS performances in the prediction of Farmed vs. Wild production method of European sea bass. Wild (n=19) and Farmed (n=20) subjects were submitted to analysis in order to assess proximate composition and fatty acids profile of the whole fillet. Aliquots of wet and ground freeze-dried minced fillet were scanned in duplicates (1100 to 2498 nm; 2 nm intervals) in reflectance mode using a monochromator NIRsystem 5000. NIRS technique evidenced a satisfactory accurateness in predicting Protein, Lipids and Fatty acids profile in raw tissues. Repetition of measures on freeze-dried tissue increased some predicting values (r2: coefficient of determination on cross-validation range from 0.671 to 0.992; SECV: standard error of cross-validation range from 0.864 to 2.981). Results showed that NIRS technique was able to discriminate between Wild (94.7% samples recognized) and Farmed (100% samples recognized) using wet muscles, and 100% for both classes on ground freeze-dried fillet.