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20 Percent of Seafood Is Mislabeled

by DeanSealey Posted on September 10, 2016

Mother Jones

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Do you ever wonder where the seafood on your plate really came from? Or whether it’s the species of fish that was advertised? New evidence proves you have every reason to be concerned: A report has found that 1 in 5 samples of seafood are mislabeled worldwide. And the mislabeling happens at every sector of the supply chain—from how the fish is sold, distributed, imported and exported, and packaged, to how it’s processed.

The report, released Wednesday by the conservation agency Oceana, analyzed 200 studies on fish fraud from 55 countries. It found fraud in (wait for it!) every investigation except one. The deception happens in different ways: for instance, by disguising a cheaper, farmed fish as a pricier, wild-caught variety, by mislabeling packaging, or by lying about the origin of the fish.

This deception gyps consumers, and it can also pose a risk to their health—fish full of mercury, for instance, might be subbed in for another variety, unbeknownst to the buyer.

Here are some of the report’s highlights, via Oceana:

The average rate of fish fraud in the United States is 28 percent, according to studies released since 2014.
In cases where a different fish was substituted for another, more than half the samples were a species that posed a health risk to consumers.
Sixty-five percent of the studies showed clear evidence that there was an economic motivation for mislabeling seafood.
You’re probably eating more catfish than you realize: Asian catfish has been substituted and sold as 18 different types of fish. The three most common types of fish used as substitutes worldwide were Asian catfish, hake, and escolar.

Not all the news is bad, however. The report highlighted that at least in the European Union, the fight against seafood fraud seems to be working. Beginning in 2010, the European Union began requiring catch documentation for all imported seafood and enacted stringent labeling and traceability requirements. The measures seem to be having an effect: Oceana found that between 2011 and 2015, overall fraud rates decreased from 23 percent to 8 percent, a low for the region.

This map from Oceana’s report shows places where seafood fraud is happening. Clicking on each fish shows a summary of each study the agency analyzed (the darker the color of the fish, the more severe the mislabeling):

For more on how fishermen are using tech to fight back against fish fraud, read this piece and listen to our Bite episode “Fishy Business” here.

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20 Percent of Seafood Is Mislabeled

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You have no idea what that fish you’re eating is, so don’t pretend

by Myrna Posted on February 21, 2013

You have no idea what that fish you’re eating is, so don’t pretend

By Philip Bump

Matthew Kenrick

This is, like, a swordfish or something.

“Man, Europe,” we think, shaking our heads with superiority. “Those weirdos are eating horse instead of beef. What a mixed-up, topsy-turvy continent.” Shrugging, we then pick up our fish sandwiches from McDonald’s or, if you’re fancy, throw a little snapper on the grill.

And that’s when the Fates play their little tricks. From The New York Times:

That tempting seafood delight glistening on the ice at the market, or sizzling at the restaurant table in its aromatic jacket of garlic and ginger? It may not be at all what you think, or indeed even close, according to a big new study of fish bought and genetically tested in 12 parts of the country — in restaurants, markets and sushi bars — by a nonprofit ocean protection group, Oceana.

In the 120 samples labeled red snapper and bought for testing nationwide, for example, 28 different species of fish were found, including 17 that were not even in the snapper family, according to the study, which was released Thursday.

The study also contained surprises about where consumers were most likely to be misled — sushi bars topped the list in every city studied — while grocery stores were most likely to be selling fish honestly. Restaurants ranked in the middle.

Oceana

This is not news in the sense that it is new. We’ve noted fish fraud a few times before. It is however news in the sense that 1) it is a new study conducted by Oceana (available here [PDF]) and 2) it considered new types of fish and 3) it was in the newspaper.

Not all of the mislabeling is willful. As the Times points out, “there are quite simply a lot of fish in the sea, and many of them look alike.” I can attest to this. But some of it is very much willful.

In the real world of perception and marketing, a fish called “slimehead” — a real name, by the way — is probably not going to fly off the menu. Far better to call it “orange roughy,” a distinction allowed by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. The government also allows Patagonian toothfish, real name, to be called Chilean sea bass, invented marketing name.

This is also not new news, but it’s worth reminding people that they eat a thing called “slimehead,” if only for the laughs.

Oceana

The deception can be dangerous. In one sample in New York, tilefish, a species that often contains unhealthy levels of mercury, was sold as snapper and halibut. And buying the wrong fish makes the already-tricky art of shopping sustainably that much harder.

At the end of its report [PDF] (which also has a city-by-city breakdown of its labeling survey), Oceana offers some recommendations that it hopes could fix the problem: improved traceability of fish from ocean to plate, better labeling requirements, increased legislation addressing the practice. Allow us to offer one additional recommendation, meant to help you save face with your European friends. If mocked by a companion from Franco-Spainia because the Filet-O-Fish you’re enjoying is of unclear provenance, simply respond as follows: “Yes, this may be tilefish instead of cod (or whatever) but at least in America, we can tell the difference between a horse and a cow.”

Then high-five an eagle.

Oceana

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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You have no idea what that fish you’re eating is, so don’t pretend

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Study finds ‘widespread seafood fraud’ at restaurants

by Myrna Posted on December 11, 2012

Study finds ‘widespread seafood fraud’ at restaurants

By Susie Cagle

Dead fish don’t lie — except for a lot of the ones served in restaurants.

Matthew Kenrick

A new study from conservation group Oceana found that 39 percent of New York restaurant fish DNA-tested by the group was mislabeled. That, combined with past studies of Los Angeles (55 percent), Boston (48 percent), and Miami (31 percent), paints a sad and even scary picture of what diners can expect when they sit down at American seafood restaurants.

Mislabeled fish was found at a range of eateries from low- to high-priced, and at every sushi spot tested. The New York Times reports:

In some cases, cheaper types of fish were substituted for expensive species. In others, fish that consumers have been urged to avoid because stocks are depleted, putting the species or a fishery at risk, was identified as a type of fish that is not threatened. Although such mislabeling violates laws protecting consumers, it is hard to detect.

Some of the findings present public health concerns. Thirteen types of fish, including tilapia and tilefish, were falsely identified as red snapper. Tilefish contains such high mercury levels that the federal Food and Drug Administration advises women who are pregnant or nursing and young children not to eat it.

Ninety-four percent of fish sold as white tuna was not tuna at all but in many cases a fish known as snake mackerel, or escolar, which contains a toxin that can cause severe diarrhea if more than a few ounces of meat are ingested.

“There are a lot of flummoxed people out there who are trying to buy fish carefully and trying to shop their conscience, but they can’t if this kind of fraud is happening,” said Kimberly Warner, a senior scientist at Oceana, who led the study.

Restaurateurs say they aren’t doing this on purpose, likening the accuracy of supply-chain information to a game of telephone, which should really boost your confidence.

Andrew Moesel, a spokesman for the New York State Restaurant Association, said that restaurants were victims, too, when it came to fish fraud. “Restaurants would be very concerned that a high percentage of fish are not what they had ordered,” he said. “Unless you’re very sophisticated, you may not be able to tell the difference between certain species of fish when you receive them.”

You might notice when you have toxic severe diarrhea, though, so that’s a helpful indicator!

One surprise of the study: Big-chain grocery stores were found to have the best fish accuracy, better than smaller markets. For now, though, I’d bet American consumers would rather trust retailers’ best judgments than fish their own dinners out of tanks like big-box shoppers do in China.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Study finds ‘widespread seafood fraud’ at restaurants

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