Multi-Mineral Element Profiles in Genuine and “Bathing” Cultured Chinese Mitten Crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) in Yangcheng Lake, China

Abstract

The authentication of high-quality fishery products originating from specific geographical regions is urgently needed worldwide. Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis), originating from Yangcheng Lake, are prime counterfeiting targets for the same reasons. Foreign crabs that are cultured briefly in the lake, known as “bathed” crabs, are illegally marketed as natives, negatively impacting the product quality. To establish a method for distinguishing “bathed” and genuine crabs, in this paper we conduct a comparative investigation by an Agilent 7500ce ICP-MS on multi-mineral element profiling of the third pereiopod from genuine and one month deliberately “bathing” cultured crabs. The profiles of 11 elements were significantly different between the genuine and foreign crabs before and after bathing. The discriminant analysis reached 100% accuracy to separate the genuine and “bathed” crabs into different groups. Bathing culture was unable to converge element profiles between the genuine and foreign crabs. The biogeochemical profiles can be effective for distinguishing “bathed” crabs.