Investigation uncovers rampant fish fraud.

[AnCap Dave]

Source

A new investigation provides fresh evidence that restaurants and markets continue to dupe seafood lovers into paying top dollar for low-grade fish.

As part of a special "Fishy Business" series, the Boston Globe spent five months buying fish from dozens of establishments throughout Massachusetts and sending the samples off to a lab in Canada. DNA tests found 48 percent of the fish had been mislabeled as a more expensive type of fish.

Fish samples were gathered from 134 restaurants, grocery stores and seafood markets, and the results were staggering.  Every one of 23 white tuna samples tested turned out to be something other than tuna. In most cases the fish labeled tuna was escolar, which the Globe said was "nicknamed the Ex-Lax of fish by some in the industry for the digestion problems it can cause."

A new investigation provides fresh evidence that restaurants and markets continue to dupe seafood lovers into paying top dollar for low-grade fish.

As part of a special "Fishy Business" series, the Boston Globe spent five months buying fish from dozens of establishments throughout Massachusetts and sending the samples off to a lab in Canada. DNA tests found 48 percent of the fish had been mislabeled as a more expensive type of fish.

Fish samples were gathered from 134 restaurants, grocery stores and seafood markets, and the results were staggering.  Every one of 23 white tuna samples tested turned out to be something other than tuna. In most cases the fish labeled tuna was escolar, which the Globe said was "nicknamed the Ex-Lax of fish by some in the industry for the digestion problems it can cause."

All but two of the 26 red snapper samples were another kind of fish, the Globe reported. That came as no surprise to Cape Cod fisherman Eric Hesse, who was quoted in the report.

"Mislabeling fish is at a ridiculous level," said Hesse. "The dealers and restaurants have a vested interest in keeping the illusion going. Every time they can say they are selling fresh, local fish and get away with selling [Pacific] frozen, they don't have to buy it from us. It kills us."

The problem extends far beyond Boston and affects consumers nationwide. Earlier this year, ABC News correspondent Elisabeth Leamy reported that seafood may be mislabeled as often as 70 percent of the time.

"According to Food and Drug Administration port inspections," Leamys said. "A third of seafood sold in the U.S. is mislabeled as one type when it's actually something else, even something cheaper."

The environmental group Oceana said part of the problem is the FDA's lax enforcement of laws that make it a crime to mislabel seafood.

"American consumers would be outraged if they ordered roast beef and they got horse meat or God forbid, whale meat," Michael Hirshfield, a chief scientist at Oceana, told Leamy. "They should be outraged if they order snapper and they get tilapia or some endangered species."

FDA officials acknowledged they could do more to police against fish fraud. The agency has nine new seafood testing machines and is training inspectors in how  to use them. Field testing is expected to begin early next year.

For now, not all the Globe's results were so disheartening. Every sample tested from Walmart, Trader Joes and  BJ's Wholesale was correctly labeled, as was every sample of mahi mahi and swordfish.

Well......shit. Good thing I'm not the biggest fan of fish.

[Ibrahim90]

Source

Well......shit. Good thing I'm not the biggest fan of fish.

so much for the Government doing its supposed job....

[FSBlueApocalypse]

Yep, alot of the same BS happens here in Florida as well. I remember a few years ago the local paper did a study involving fish labeled as "Grouper" and about half of the restaurants were serving a cheaper fish.

[Goaticus]

I used to love flounder from Red Lobster as a kid. As an adult I went to Hawaii and bought flounder. I didn't recognize the taste. Luckily it is pretty hard to fake Salmon that you catch when camping.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

LOL yeah Red Lobster would be bad about that.

When I want sea food I have a short list of a few small places I'll go to. They might be more expensive, but I know I'm getting the fish I pay for and it was in the ocean less than 12 hours ago.

[MrBogosity]

I wonder how much is the restaurants' fault and how much is the suppliers'? Could it be the restaurants are being taken for a ride as well?

[kiri2tsubasa]

I wonder how much is the restaurants' fault and how much is the suppliers'? Could it be the restaurants are being taken for a ride as well?

Something like that wouldn't completely surprise me as I work in retail, and their are times when my managers make specific orders from suppliers, but we get either something that is not what we ordered or a low quality version of that product.  I suspect that we have lost many thousands of dollars due to screw up on the suppliers end.

[Lord T Hawkeye]

Yep, alot of the same BS happens here in Florida as well. I remember a few years ago the local paper did a study involving fish labeled as "Grouper" and about half of the restaurants were serving a cheaper fish.

Grouper?  I heard those fish were only good for sport fishing as their meat is really wormy and gross.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

You're thinking of a different fish. Grouper is a staple of every seafood restaurant down here. You might be thinking of Marlin.