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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:11 pm
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Results for seafood fraud
3 results foundAuthor: Warner, Kimberly Title: Oceana Study Reveals Seafood Fraud Nationwide Summary: Americans are routinely urged to include more seafood in their diets as part of a healthy lifestyle. Yet consumers are often given inadequate, confusing or misleading information about the seafood they purchase. The dishonest and illegal practice of substituting one seafood species for another, or seafood fraud, has been uncovered both in the United States and abroad at levels ranging from 25 to more than 70 percent for commonly swapped species such as red snapper, wild salmon and Atlantic cod. From 2010 to 2012, Oceana conducted 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. DNA testing found that one-third (33 percent) of the 1,215 samples analyzed nationwide were mislabeled, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. Of the most commonly collected fish types, samples sold as snapper and tuna had the highest mislabeling rates (87 and 59 percent, 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 seabass were also mislabeled between 19 and 38 percent of the time, while salmon was mislabeled 7 percent 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. Our study identified strong national trends in seafood mislabeling levels among retail types, with sushi venues ranking the highest (74 percent), followed by restaurants (38 percent) and then grocery stores (18 percent). 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). Our 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 U.S. As our results demonstrate, a high level of mislabeling nationwide indicates that seafood fraud harms not only the consumer’s pocket book, but also every honest vendor or fisherman along the supply chain. These fraudulent practices also carry potentially serious concerns for the health of consumers, and for the health of our oceans and vulnerable fish populations. Because our study was restricted to seafood sold in retail outlets, we cannot say exactly where the fraudulent activity occurred. The global seafood supply chain is increasingly complex and obscure. With lagging federal oversight and minimal government inspection despite rising fish imports, and without sampling along the supply chain, it is difficult to determine if fraud is occurring at the boat, during processing, at the wholesale level, at the retail counter or somewhere else along the way. Our findings demonstrate that a comprehensive and transparent traceability system – one that tracks fish from boat to plate – must 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 combatting fraud are needed to reverse these disturbing trends. Our government has a responsibility to provide more information about the fish sold in the U.S., as seafood fraud harms not only consumers’ wallets, but also every honest vendor and fisherman cheated in the process--to say nothing of the health of our oceans. Details: Washington, DC: Oceana, 2013. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 26, 2013 at: http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/National_Seafood_Fraud_Testing_Results_FINAL.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/National_Seafood_Fraud_Testing_Results_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 127714 Keywords: Consumer FraudFishingIllegal PracticesSeafood Fraud |
Author: Kroetz, Kailin Title: Examining Seafood Fraud Through the Lens of Production and Trade: How Much Mislabeled Seafood do Consumers Buy? Summary: Key findings -- Due to the globalized nature and complexity of seafood markets, unraveling the causes and consequences of seafood mislabeling will require novel approaches with multiple types of data. Mislabeling rates can be integrated with import and production data to produce estimates of apparent consumption of mislabeled seafood. Estimating apparent consumption of mislabeled products, however, is currently limited by the quality of consumption and mislabeling data, of which the latter is particularly problematic and challenging. More coordinated and targeted research is needed in order to understand to seafood mislabeling and its potential impacts. Details: Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2018. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2019 at: https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/examining-seafood-fraud-through-the-lens-of-production-and-trade-how-much-mislabeled-seafood-do-consumers-buy/ Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/examining-seafood-fraud-through-the-lens-of-production-and-trade-how-much-mislabeled-seafood-do-consumers-buy/ Shelf Number: 155455 Keywords: Consumer FraudFishing IndustryIllegal PracticesSeafood Fraud |
Author: New York State. Office of the Attorney General Title: Fishy Business: Seafood Fraud and Mislabeling in New York State Supermarkets Summary: Something fishy is going on at supermarket seafood counters. Consumers think they are buying lemon sole, red snapper, or wild salmon, or any one of dozens of seafood options. But too often, they get something else entirely. They unknowingly take home a cheaper, less environmentally sustainable, or less healthy fish. It's a bait-and-switch, which cheats consumers and violates consumer protection laws. From late 2017 through 2018, the New York State Office of the Attorney General ("OAG") undertook the first major government investigation in the U.S. to target seafood fraud at retail supermarket chains. OAG purchased seafood based on availability at 155 locations across 29 supermarket brands, targeting seafood falling into nine distinct categories. An academic laboratory then identified the species using DNA testing. The results were disturbing. Key findings include: - More than one in four (26.92%) seafood purchases with an identifiable barcode was mislabeled. About two-thirds of the supermarket brands reviewed had at least one instance of suspected mislabeling. - A small subset of supermarket brands was responsible for a vastly disproportionate share of suspected mislabeling. Of the 12 chains with 10 or more samples tested, five had rates of suspected mislabeling that exceeded 50%. These five are subject to an ongoing OAG consumer fraud investigation. - While mislabeling affected virtually every tested seafood category, there was rampant mislabeling of certain species. The results suggest that consumers who buy lemon sole, red snapper, and grouper are more likely to receive an entirely different fish. Similarly, consumers who bought what was advertised as "wild" salmon often actually received farm-raised salmon instead. Such consumers had often paid more money-on average 34% more-to avoid farm raised fish. - The substitutes were typically cheaper, less desirable species than the desired species. Snappers sold as red snapper, for example, tended to sell for half as much when properly labeled as another type of snapper. Some substitutes (e.g., lane snapper), had higher mercury levels or came from less sustainable fisheries than the desired species, raising consumer safety and environmental sustainability issues. - Seafood mislabeling occurred across most regions of New York, but was most widespread downstate. New York City had a staggering mislabeling rate (42.65%), with similarly high rates of mislabeling on Long Island (40.63%) and only slightly lower in Westchester and Rockland Counties (32.43%). Solving the seafood fraud problem requires industry-wide reforms, at all stages of the supply chain. The report concludes with a description of some of the best practices already in effect at certain supermarkets. Details: Albany: Author, 2018. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 25, 2019 at: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/fishy_business.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/fishy_business.pdf Shelf Number: 155521 Keywords: Consumer Fraud Consumer Protection Fishing Industry Food Fraud Food Industry Seafood Fraud |