Report Says 33% of Seafood Sold in U.S. Mislabeled

WASHINGTONThe dishonest and illegal practice of substituting one seafood species for another, or seafood fraud, is ramped in the United States and abroad at levels ranging from 25% to more than 70% for commonly swapped species such as red snapper, wild salmon and Atlantic cod. A new report from U.S.-based Oceana revealed DNA testing found 33% of the 1,215 seafood samples analyzed nationwide over a 2-year period spanning 2010 to 2012 were mislabeled, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines.

The Oceana investigation was one of the largest seafood fraud investigations in the world to date, collecting more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states to determine if they were honestly labeled.

Of the most commonly collected fish types, samples sold as snapper and tuna had the highest mislabeling rates (87% and 59%, respectively), with the majority of the samples identified by DNA analysis as something other than what was found on the label. In fact, only seven of the 120 samples of red snapper purchased nationwide were actually red snapper. The other 113 samples were another fish.

Halibut, grouper, cod and Chilean sea bass also were mislabeled between 19% and 38% of the time, while salmon was mislabeled 7% of the time. Forty-four percent of all the retail outlets visited sold mislabeled fish. Restaurants, grocery stores and sushi venues all sold mislabeled fish and chances of being swindled varied greatly depending on where the seafood was purchased.

The study identified strong national trends in seafood mislabeling levels among retail types, with sushi venues ranking the highest (74%), followed by restaurants (38%) and then grocery stores (18%). These same trends among retail outlets were generally observed at the regional level.

Seafood substitutions included species carrying health advisories (e.g. king mackerel sold as grouper; escolar sold as white tuna), cheaper farmed fish sold as wild (e.g. tilapia sold as red snapper), and overfished, imperiled or vulnerable species sold as more sustainable catch (e.g. Atlantic halibut sold as Pacific halibut). Testing also turned up species not included among the more than 1,700 seafood species the federal government recognizes as sold or likely to be sold in the United States.

The findings demonstrate that a comprehensive and transparent traceability systemone that tracks fish from boat to platemust be established at the national level. At the same time, increased inspection and testing of our seafood, specifically for mislabeling, and stronger federal and state enforcement of existing laws combating fraud are needed to reverse these disturbing trends.

According to Oceana, the U.S. government has a responsibility to provide more information about the fish sold in the United States, as seafood fraud harms not only consumers wallets, but also every honest vendor and fisherman cheated in the processto say nothing of the health of our oceans."

A released in January by the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) revealed the incidences of food adulteration or food fraud" has risen a staggering 60% since 2010. Seafood, clouding agents and lemon juice were among the nearly 800 new records of food fraud" added to the USP Food Fraud Database, which tracks information about foods that are vulnerable to fraudulent manipulation in todays food supply.

The first iteration of the database compiled 1,300 records of food fraud published between 1980 and 2010. (See the Image Gallery: Food SafetyTainted & Adulterated Foods.) The new report increases the total number of records by 60%and consists mostly of newer information published in 2011 and 2012 in both scholarly journals and general media.