Next time you think about ordering a spicy tuna roll, you may want to consider this. A study by Oceana found that 59 percent of fish labeled “tuna” at restaurants and grocery stores in the U.S. were not, in fact, tuna. Sushi restaurants were the worst offenders, accounting for three-quarters of mislabeled tuna.
The study was one of the largest seafood fraud investigations to date and included more than 1,200 samples from 674 retail outlets around the country. It didn’t include canned tuna or other canned seafood. Overall, Oceana found that one-third of all seafood samples were mislabeled.
This study brings to light the disturbing lack of oversight in U.S. seafood markets. While more than 90 percent of our seafood is imported, less than one percent is inspected for fraud. And this lack of oversight has wide-ranging implications, from not getting what you pay for to serious health risks.
Consumers paying top dollar for red snapper were actually eating much cheaper tilapia. In other instances, fish that appear on the FDA’s warning list for sensitive populations due to high mercury content – like tilefish and king mackerel – were instead labeled as halibut, grouper, and snapper. And 84 percent of fish labeled “white tuna” were actually escolar – a fish that can cause severe, uncontrollable diarrhea.
This type of mislabeling strips consumers of their ability to make ethical and healthful choices. Oceana is calling for a system to be established that would track fish from boat to plate, as well as stronger enforcement of state and federal fraud laws.
**********
.
Web Links
59% of the ‘Tuna’ Americans Eat Is Not Tuna
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/59-of-the-tuna-americans-eat-is-not-tuna/273410/
Oceana Study Reveals Seafood Fraud Nationwide
http://oceana.org/en/news-media/publications/reports/oceana-study-reveals-seafood-fraud-nationwide
http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/National_Seafood_Fraud_Testing_Results_Highlights_FINAL.pdf
Photo, taken on December 14, 2011, courtesy of Ralph Daily via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.