Multi-instrument Evaluation of a Real-time PCR Assay for Identification of Atlantic Salmon: a Case Study on the Use of a Pre-packaged Kit for Rapid Seafood Species Identification

Protecting the seafood supply chain from species substitution is critical for economic, health, and conservation reasons. DNA-based methods represent an effective means to detect species substitution, but current methods can be time consuming or costly, and require specialized instruments and operators. Real-time PCR provides an alternative that can be performed quickly, and in some cases even on-site. The use of commercial kits reduces the expertise required by the operator and therefore increases accessibility to testing. This potentially increases the likelihood of adoption into the supply chain, but only if the kits are robust across multiple operators, instruments, and samples. In this study, the InstantID™ Atlantic salmon kits were tested on a variety of instruments with market samples of fresh, frozen, smoked, and canned Atlantic salmon. Results were repeatable across all samples and instruments tested. This kit, and others like it that have undergone appropriate evaluation, represents a means for expanded access to testing for industry or regulators to screen seafood for species authenticity. Portable equipment can bring testing on-site, further reducing analysis time.