Scientist offers way to combat counterfeit NZ mussels

1.00pm

A New Zealand scientist believes he may be able to prevent China passing off its mussels as New Zealand-grown.

New Zealand's Washington embassy recently contacted US Customs following the New Zealand Mussel Council bringing to its attention instances of Chinese mussels being packaged in counterfeit New Zealand exporter boxes.

Victoria University's senior lecturer in marine biology, Jonathan Gardner, said genetic markers could be used to prove whether mussels were genuine New Zealand Greenshell mussels or not.

Dr Gardner said Victoria University had been involved in researching the stock gene flows between North Island and South Island mussels.

"We are trying to work out how similar the mussels are, and whether there are any variations caused by different climates -- whether some mussels are more adapted to colder climates or have shells that are more green," he said.

As part of this research, marine biology students are also investigating genetic markers -- as a way of tracking the mussels from when they are spat, without the need to attach physical labels to the shellfish.

"With genetic markers we have the ability to identify individual mussels and say almost definitively what family they have come from."

Dr Gardner said this technology could easily be used to identify New Zealand Greenshell mussels -- perna canaliculus -- because they were not currently grown anywhere else in the world.

"Obviously we won't be able to pinpoint exactly where the mussels come from because some species of mussels are grown in a multitude of countries, but we can say whether the mussel is a Greenshell mussel."

Dr Gardner said only a microscopic amount of mussel meat was needed for the test and it did not matter which state the mussels were in for the test to take place.

"They could be frozen, cooked or marinaded in sweet chilli sauce or made into a chowder, it makes no difference to the test."

He said, in practice, New Zealand could develop the technology for the genetic markers test and sell that technology as a testing kit to the United States and other countries.

"Any country with a suitable laboratory will be able to do the test and have a result within 12 hours," Mr Gardener said.

New Zealand Mussel Industry Council executive officer Rebecca Clarkson said using genetic markers to combat the counterfeiting sounded "very interesting".

"It all depends on whether it would be economically viable. It will be one of the options that will be going to our research committee in the next few months."

Ms Clarkson said she had also been approached by Carter Holt Harvey about the possibility of inserting fluro strips in packaging.

The strips, which cannot be seen but can be read by a scanner, would prevent counterfeiting of New Zealand exporter boxes.

- NZPA