The latest study by Oceana on seafood mislabeling has been featured on NBC’s ''Today'' show – helping to throw the thorny issue of US seafood fraud into the international spotlight.
Oceana’s latest fraud report shows that three in five (58%) of retail store samples it took in New York were inaccurately labelled according to United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines – in most cases a cheaper fish was being fraudulently sold as a more expensive species.
The report included DNA testing of 142 seafood samples from 81 retail outlets, including grocery stores, restaurants and sushi venues.
Among the other findings were that 100% of the 16 sushi venues tested sold mislabeled fish and 94% of the white tuna being sold in the sampling was not tuna at all, but escolar, a snake mackerel that has a toxin with purgative effects for people who eat more than a small amount of the fish.
Dr Kimberly Warner, report author and senior scientist, Oceana, said: “It’s unacceptable that New York seafood lovers are being duped more than one-third of the time when purchasing certain types of fish. Not only are New Yorkers being cheated when buying fraudulent fish, but those wanting to choose their seafood wisely for health, religious or conservation concerns are being seriously misled.”
Seafood fraud appears to be widespread in the US. Oceana and others have recently uncovered shocking levels of seafood mislabeling in the Boston (48%), Los Angeles (55%) and Miami (31%) areas.
The organisation is now urging the US Congress to pass the Safety in Fraud and Enforcement for Seafood (SAFE Seafood) Act, which would require full traceability for all seafood sold in the US helping to combat fraud.
