Background: Elemental profiling is a tool that has been proposed to improve the traceability of seafood products. Small sources of variation can affect the outcome of elemental profiling and therefore pose to lower the overall accuracy of analyses. Here, we investigate two potential sources of variation through three experiments: laboratory variation (intra-, interlaboratory variation, and tissue matrix) and tissue variation.
Methods and results: Samples of whitleleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) were obtained from 20 farms in Ecuador and two farms in Alabama to be analyzed. In the first experiment of the study, samples from Ecuador were analyzed at three different laboratories and compared. Two out of the five elements reported were statistically different across the three laboratories (Cu and Se). In the second experiment, the effect of tissue matrix (ground vs whole tissue during acid digestion) was investigated. Altogether, five out of 29 elements analyzed were statistically different. In the third experiment, samples from two farms in Alabama were analyzed to understand the variation in element concentrations in different tissues (head on shell on (HOSO), headless shell on (HLSO), headless peeled (PLD) and headless peeled and deveined (PLDV)). Elemental concentrations varied across tissues, and patterns in elemental concentrations were site specific. The samples from the two farms were analyzed with a Random Forest classification model to site x tissue groupings with 94% accuracy.
Conclusion: The result of this study highlights the following: 1. Consistency in laboratory analysis important in studies that involve element concentrations, as minor differences in methodology can propagate as significant differences in results. 2. In shrimp, elements are compartmentalized in different tissues and elemental profiling should consistently use the same type of tissue.
Keywords: Aquaculture; Elemental profiling; Trace elements; Traceability.
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