Abstract:“Salmon” is the trade name of salmon and trout, these are internationally recognized high-grade aquatic products. In recent years, the large-scale supply of rainbow trout has had a great impact on the world salmon trade, triggering a war of “real” and “fake” salmon. The public impression is that the high quality and high market price of the famous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from Atlantic Ocean is not comparable to the cultured freshwater rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Thus, it is important to have knowledge about the species of salmon available in the aquatic market and whether the species information indicated on the label is true. It is very difficult for ordinary consumers to identify the species of salmon in the market. DNA barcoding has been widely used in the study of species taxonomy. It is a powerful technology for rapid and accurate identification of species. In this study, DNA barcoding was used to investigate the consistency between label information and the actual species of salmon in products across six large supermarkets and aquatic markets in Qingdao. Of the 74 salmon samples collected, 61 were S. salar, accounting for 82.43%; 11 were O. mykiss, accounting for 14.86%; and O. keta and O. kisutch accounted for 1.35%. Although the survey data shows that Atlantic salmon is the main salmon product in Qingdao, we identified that 14.86% of labels on salmon products were inconsistent with the test results, and more than 40% of the salmon products did not provide origin information. Thus, there are still some adulteration and food safety risks in aquatic salmon products. Market supervision of this internationally recognized high-end aquatic product needs to be strengthened. The relevant departments should urgently formulate product standards and testing standards to ensure the safety and traceability of salmon quality before inferior species affect the high public impression of salmon products.
