Jiajie Hu

Contatti: j.hu1@studenti.unipi.it

ORCID:0000-0002-0288-3439

Supervisori tesi: Prof. Andrea Armani, Prof. Shanggui Deng (Zhejiang Ocean University, China) 

 

Titolo del progetto: Next Generation Sequencing Technologies and Food Authentication: Current Applications and Perspectives 

Abstract: Ensuring food authenticity has become a critical challenge due to the increasing complexity of global supply chains and the rise of food fraud, such as mislabeling and species substitution in animal-derived products. While traditional DNA-based methods often struggle with highly processed or multi-species mixtures, next generation sequencing and DNA metabarcoding offer a powerful high-throughput alternative capable of simultaneous multi-species identification. However, the widespread adoption of NGS in routine food authentication is currently hindered by the lack of standardized protocols, the high cost of specialized bioinformatics expertise, and the complexities of genetic marker selection. By addressing these critical technical hurdles, my research aims to develop reliable and standardized food authentication and species identification methodologies. This work focuses specifically on seafood products in the Chinese, Italian, and wider European markets, leveraging and comparing both the Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing platforms. Ultimately, this research seeks to establish a robust framework for counteracting food fraud and enhancing global food safety and regulatory compliance.  

Pubblicazioni:

  • Hu, J., Giusti, A., Zhang, J., Tinacci, L., Zhao, C., Ying, X., Armani, A., Guidi, A., & Deng, S. (2025). A Double-Gene Metabarcoding Approach for the Authentication of Shrimp Surimi-Based Products. Genes (Basel), 16 (2), 144.  
  • Hu, J., Giusti, A., Hu, Y., Zhang, Y., Spatola, G., Tinacci, L., Ying, X., & Armani, A. (2026). Atmospheric cold plasma as a preservation strategy for red shrimp surimi-based products: Effects on bacterial communities, volatile compounds, and freshness during refrigerated storage. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 445, 111504.  
  • Hu, J., Xie, K., Zhu, H., Giusti, A., Li, M., Zheng, Y., Chen, J., Armani, A., Ying, X., & Deng, S. (2025). Effects of atmospheric cold plasma treatment mode on muscle quality and bacterial community of red shrimp during cold storage. Food Research International, 207, 116051. 
  • Hu, J., Zhang, Y., Pan, W., Han, Q., Wei, Y., Li, Y., Hu, Y., Ying, X., Armani, A., Guidi, A., & Deng, S. (2025). Antibacterial mechanism of atmospheric cold plasma against Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida and its preservation application on in-packaged red shrimp paste. Food Chemistry, 464, 141590.  
  • Giusti, A., Tinacci, L., Armani, A., Spatola, G., Hu, J., Vulperhorst, V., Perry, A. L., & Cusa, M. (2026). Labelling assessment and molecular authentication of squid-based products from two major European cities. Food Control, 185, 112069. 
  • Zhang, X., Giusti, A., Li, S., Deng, W., Sun, Z., Li, Y., Peng, H., Hu, J., Armani, A., & Wen, J. (2025). Beyond mislabelling: Chinese fish balls authentication by metabarcoding allows unveiling hidden mammal and avian species. Food Control, 176, 111338.  

Comunicazioni orali a congresso:

  • May 2025: 3rd Italy-China Bilateral Workshop on Scientific-Technological Research and Higher Education Applied to the Sciences of the Sea. Speech title: A Double-Gene Metabarcoding Approach for the Authentication of Shrimp Surimi-Based Products. (Pisa, Italy)