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Seafood is often falsely labelled, study finds
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...-falsely-labelled-study-finds/article8912618/
Seafood fraud is rampant in the United States, where one third of fish samples were mislabelled, according to a new report based on Canadian lab testing.
The study by Oceana, a sea-life conservation group, found that consumers were regularly hoodwinked into buying seafood that was not as advertised. For instance, fish sold as white tuna was often escolar, so-called Atlantic cod was either Pacific cod or white hake, and snapper was a false label for a long list of inferior substitutes, including seabream, tilapia or rockfish.
Among the study’s findings:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...-falsely-labelled-study-finds/article8912618/
Seafood fraud is rampant in the United States, where one third of fish samples were mislabelled, according to a new report based on Canadian lab testing.
The study by Oceana, a sea-life conservation group, found that consumers were regularly hoodwinked into buying seafood that was not as advertised. For instance, fish sold as white tuna was often escolar, so-called Atlantic cod was either Pacific cod or white hake, and snapper was a false label for a long list of inferior substitutes, including seabream, tilapia or rockfish.
Among the study’s findings:
- Sushi restaurants had the highest rates of mislabelling, at 74 per cent. Grocery stores were the best, with 44 per cent selling mislabelled fish.
- Snapper was the most commonly mislabelled species, at 87 per cent. And only seven of 120 red snapper samples tested were as advertised.
- 84 per cent of white tuna samples were actually escolar, which can cause digestive problems.
- Cheaper farmed fish are often substituted for wild species, such as tilapia sold as red snapper and Atlantic farmed salmon sold as wild or king salmon.
- Overfished and vulnerable species were also sold instead of more sustainable choices, such as Atlantic halibut masquerading as Pacific halibut.
- Fish with high levels of mercury, which should not be eaten by pregnant women and children, were sometimes sold under the guise of safer fish. For instance, consumers in New York City who selected red snapper and halibut were instead sold tilefish.
- Southern California had the highest rates of fraud, at 52 per cent of samples.
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