Fraudulent fish & seafood pulling bait and switch on consumers: report

Think you have bigger fish to fry than to double-check seafood labels? An investigation into mislabeled fish in US grocery stores may have you thinking twice.

In a recent Consumer Reports investigation, more than one-fifth of 190 species of seafood purchased at retail stores in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were found to be either mislabeled as a different species of fish, incompletely labeled, or misidentified by employees.

After sending fresh and frozen fish samples to a lab for DNA testing, investigators found that 18 percent of the samples were bogus matches, be it the name on placards, labels or menus.

Cheaper fish with greater health risks were being passed off for more premium species, the report says, like catfish, grey sole, grouper, halibut, king salmon, lemon sole, red snapper, sockeye salmon and yellowfin tuna.

In their investigation, lemon sole turned out to be the most commonly mislabeled fish with all 10 samples misidentified. Of the 22 red snapper samples, 12 also turned out to be not as advertised.

Only four of the 14 types of fish were found to be consistently correctly identified: Chilean sea bass, coho salmon, and bluefin and ahi tuna.

Furthermore, in one sample sold as grouper, DNA tests revealed the fish was actually tilefish which averages three times as much mercury as grouper. The US Food and Drug Administration also advises women of childbearing age and children to avoid tilefish entirely.

The results of their investigation are similar to a slew of recent studies conducted by other consumer groups and environmental organizations. In the spring, for instance, marine conservation group Oceana released a seafood fraud report entitled “Bait and Switch” which said that more than one-third of fish is inappropriately labeled. That rate is higher for processed fish.

Some of the most commonly mislabeled fish in their report also included red snapper, wild salmon, grouper, and Atlantic cod.

It’s a widespread concern that major Canadian grocer Sobeys began addressing recently, with the launch of a pioneering seafood traceability program that allows consumers to trace their seafood purchase all the way back to the fisherman who caught their dinner. Consumers can also learn where the catch took place, the boat it was caught on, and the fishing method used.

Greenpeace also offers a helpful consumer’s guide to sustainable seafood with its annual report “Carting Away the Oceans.” After evaluating major grocery retailers on everything from corporate policies, initiatives, transparency and red list sales, the group gave Safeway the highest mark, followed by Target, Wegmans, Whole Foods and Ahold in the US.

Meanwhile Consumer Reports recommends that consumers consider buying sustainable fish that are abundant and well managed and low in contaminants. The Monterey Bay Aquarium offers a downloadable pocket guide that outlines ‘ocean-friendly’ seafood.

The full Consumer Reports investigation will be in the Decemeber issue of the magazine.

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