New Study Reveals Mislabeling in Fish Industry

Recently, horsemeat was passed off in UK stores as beef, leaving shoppers wondering just how accurate food labels are. Nonprofit Oceana conducted genetic testing on fish sold at sushi bars and national grocery stores, finding nearly one-third mislabeled. Testing was done over two years, between 2010 and 2012, and concluded that sushi bars were the most likely, over restaurants and grocers, to have mislabeled fish. Red flags regarding mislabeled fish and the health of mercury-sensitive people, namely pregnant women, were raised as tilefish––a species high in mercury––was being sold as red snapper and halibut. Additionally, the report detailed that nearly two-thirds of salmon labeled wild-caught were actually Atlantic-farmed salmon, which are less environmentally sustainable and less healthy.