Food control policies regarding to seafood label authenticity have become a global issue due to increased incidence of species substitution or mislabelling. Proper species-level identification in processed scallop products is hindered by the lack of morphological characters such as their valves. In order to identify four commercially important scallop species (Argopecten purpuratus, Argopecten irradians, Mizuhopecten yessoensis, Pecten albicans) a species-specific multiplex PCR reaction is described herein. Novel reverse species-specific primers in combination with one universal forward primer designed to amplify a partial region of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were assayed in fresh as well as in manufactured scallop samples. All PCR reactions showed a high specificity allowing an unambiguous species authentication. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.