Check out Biomeme's demonstration at NYC Tech Day 2016. We showcased our Fishy Fish test to thousands of citizen scientists!
Biomeme's Fishy Fish test sought out to see what kind of fish our local Philadelphia and New York City restaurants were really serving up in sushi. The Fishy Fish test on the Biomeme device detects a specific DNA signal from Escolar or Tilapia, two commonly used fish substitutes.
By running this test, we found out whether we were sold either of these fish as a substitute for “White Tuna” (which should be Albacore tuna), Red Snapper, or Yellowtail. Our study found that 100 percent of the restaurants in New York City that claimed to offer White Tuna on their menu were fraudulent. According to a study by Oceana, 33 percent of all fish purchased from restaurants and sushi bars were mislabeled. Further, they found that 59 percent of Tuna samples were mislabeled.
Escolar is a particularly dangerous substitute for White Tuna as it can cause serious digestive issues when consumed in quantities larger than six ounces. Escolar also has higher mercury content, which could lead to mercury poisoning. Mercury poisoning can cause anxiety, depression, irritability, memory problems, and more. Moreover, advanced mercury poisoning could cause hearing and speech difficulty, muscle weakness, vision changes, nerve loss in your hands and face and more.
Interested in running your own test using the Biomeme platform? Check out our full suite of end-to-end real-time PCR products from DNA and RNA purification to running a test on a hand-held PCR thermocycler to finally analyzing your real-time PCR test here.
Do you need to take your assay into the field, but you don't see an existing test on our website? Contact us to develop your assay for the Biomeme platform here.
