According to the Salmon & Trout Association (Scotland) UK supermarket Sainbury’s is still selling mislabelled salmon, despite apologising for the error eight weeks ago.
After being reported to Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards for selling mainland farmed salmon labelled as being from “fast flowing sea water locations around the Isles of Skye, Lewis and Uist”, when it is actually from mainland fish-farms in Argyll, the Taste the Difference salmon is still on the shelves.
S&TA(S) is again calling on Sainsbury’s to justify its claims of ‘responsibly sourcing’ or withdraw the product.
Hughie Campbell-Adamson, Chairman of S&TA(S), said: “The almost unbelievable state of affairs, whereby Sainsbury’s is continuing to pass off mainland farm-reared salmon as having come from the Hebrides, is bad enough.
“The claims of responsible management at the farms concerned, as Sainsbury’s puts it, to protect and maintain the natural environment, need to be justified. If Sainsbury’s cannot justify their claims, then they must stop making them.”
The farms concerned are Rubha Stillaig, Meall Mhor and Tarbert South, all in Argyll. S&TA(S) says that two of the farms where the salmon comes from - Rubha Stillaig and Meall Mhor - have had inspections that showed that sea-lice levels that were too high, suggesting that the farms were posing a significant risk to wild salmonid populations.
S&TA(S) also reports that other problems have been found in the past at the farms in question – including “buckled” cages which could “implode” and unsatisfactory benthic (sea bed) pollution reports. These inspections and reports are dated between 2009-2011.
S&TA(S) has again reported Sainsbury’s to Trading Standards and to the Advertising Standards Authority.
