Independent DNA testing of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) labelled products has confirmed their sustainability, with over 99% correctly labelled.
Of 320 samples tested, only three were found to be mislabelled – frozen fish fillets sold in Belgium retailer labelled as Pacific cod, fresh fish fillets supplied to a restaurant in the Netherlands as saithe, and chilled pre-prepared meal sold in the UK as container haddock.
All three were found to be Atlantic cod.
Alison Roel, product integrity manager, MSC, said: "This is an important test for the MSC because it provides consumers and MSC stakeholders with added assurance that MSC-labelled seafood has been correctly labelled.”
"DNA analysis provides an additional means of helping our partners protect their investment in the MSC programme, and we’re going to continue to expand the test to increase our overview of the chain of custody programme. Any cases where mislabelling is identified will be referred to the certifiers of the supply chain so they can be further investigated," she added.
Independent DNA testing is an integral part of the MSC’s strategy for monitoring the effectiveness of this chain of custody programme.
In order to extend the reach and value of the testing, additional species were added including haddock, tuna and halibut.
In addition, a smaller control group of non-MSC certified seafood products were also tested, which revealed 5% were mislabelled.
The three mislabelled samples are now being investigated by tracing back the documentation through the supply chain. If evidence is found of a substitution with non-MSC certified seafood, the result will be suspension of certification.
The full report can be found here.
