New IAEA Project to Fight Seafood Fraud with Nuclear Technology
This CRP builds on previous food authenticity projects and aims to empower countries, particularly low and middle-income countries, to apply nuclear technologies to combat seafood fraud. It aims to enhance consumer protection, increase trust in food control systems and support sustainable aquatic resource management.
The objectives of this CRP include developing and validating fit-for-purpose analytical methods, establishing standardized sampling and preparation protocols and generating new analytical data to address knowledge gaps in seafood fraud detection.
A planned output of the CRP will be to create reference databases of isotopic and molecular fingerprints for various seafood products. These databases will feed into digital food traceability systems, facilitating international trade and regulatory compliance.
The CRP will also serve as a platform for strengthening expertise, enabling technology transfer, regional collaboration and training. Participating countries will be equipped to align national seafood labelling regulations with Codex and international standards.
“This IAEA project provides Member States with a valuable opportunity to collaborate in combating fraud and de-risking the seafood supply chain using robust nuclear science-based tools. Seafood provenance information can benefit trade and contribute to industry sustainability,” said Debashish Mazumder, Food Provenance Project Leader at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
Over five years, this CRP will produce scientific IAEA publications to share results with food safety networks, regulators and industry. The long-term impact seeks to extend beyond seafood authenticity by contributing to sustainability and equity in seafood value chains, supporting artisanal fisheries and combating illegal and unregulated fishing.
