A new study has discovered that cod mislabelling has been eradicated in Dublin’s supermarkets but not takeaways.
Four years ago a genetic study uncovered the widespread mislabelling of cod in Dublin’s supermarkets and takeaways, finding that 28% of the products belonged to a different species of fish.
All nine of Ireland’s national daily newspapers, two national radio programmes and one national TV news broadcast covered the story. It was also reported in newspapers abroad such as the New York Times and the Guardian in the UK.
In 2011, Professor Stefano Mariani of the University of Salford, who co-authored the original research, investigated the effect of the media scrutiny with colleagues from University College Dublin and the University of British Colombia, revisiting the same Dublin shops to genetically test products labelled as cod.
The researchers found that the practice of mislabelling had been completely eradicated in the surveyed supermarkets. However, they found that mislabelling was still rife in the takeaway industry, where 41.7% of fish was still mislabelled as cod (compared to 50% in 2010).
Professor Mariani said: “The timeline of events suggests that the negative media coverage generated by the first cod mislabelling study put the large supermarkets under intense scrutiny, which acted as a positive catalyst for change.
“This hasn’t happened to the same degree in the takeaway industry, probably due to the less systematic custom and the convenient nature of the food. Despite the impact of media coverage in this instance, it remains necessary that the authorities commit to adequate effective enforcement, in order to eradicate illegal practices in the sector.”
