A recent article in The New York Times written by Kirk Johnson describes a problem that most Americans aren't aware of. Survey Finds That Fish Are Often Not What Label Says sums up the theme of the article with it's title.
I have seen the recent new stories about horse meat being used in Europe. Many people, Europeans and Americans alike, are appalled by this outbreak and have taken immediate action. Although Americans are not eating horse meat, we have a similar problem that few are aware of. A survey that took place across the country found that about a third of fish being sold in metropolitan areas are mislabeled.
Oceana, a non-profit organization, took 120 samples of fish labeled "Red Snapper" nationwide. When Oceana tested the fish samples, 28 different species were found, including 17 that are not even in the Snapper family.
The samples were taken from restaurants, super markets, and sushi bars in twelve different cities in the U.S.. Which vendor had the most mislabeled fish? Sushi bars topped the list in every city, with restaurants coming in second. Grocery stores were by far the most honest about what they were selling. Sushi bars are most likely to take advantage because the customer's meal is chopped up, rolled in rice and covered in seaweed. Unless you happen to be an expert on fish, you won't be able to tell that there is any difference between what you ordered and what you've been served.
Seattle and Boston had the lowest rates of false identification, but about one fifth of the samples still proved to be mislabeled. In New York, 94% of tuna samples turned out not to be tuna. But deciding whether or not the vendor is at fault is where the lines start to blur.
The Federal Food And Drug Administration has allowed for some fish to be sold under different names. Would you like to eat a Patagonian toothfish? I didn't think so. This is the reason why the Patagonian toothfish is also known and sold as Chilean sea bass.
Fish being mislabeled might not seem like a big deal, at least not to you. But some mislabeled fish can be dangerous to those who eat them. Pregnant women should avoid eating fish with mercury, but some "Red Snapper" was actually a fish containing high levels of the poison.
I never liked fish to begin with, but because of the results of this study I will never order seafood again.
Next time you go out to eat, take a hard look at what is on your plate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/us/survey-finds-that-fish-are-often-not-what-label-says.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
The samples were taken from restaurants, super markets, and sushi bars in twelve different cities in the U.S.. Which vendor had the most mislabeled fish? Sushi bars topped the list in every city, with restaurants coming in second. Grocery stores were by far the most honest about what they were selling. Sushi bars are most likely to take advantage because the customer's meal is chopped up, rolled in rice and covered in seaweed. Unless you happen to be an expert on fish, you won't be able to tell that there is any difference between what you ordered and what you've been served.
Seattle and Boston had the lowest rates of false identification, but about one fifth of the samples still proved to be mislabeled. In New York, 94% of tuna samples turned out not to be tuna. But deciding whether or not the vendor is at fault is where the lines start to blur.
The Federal Food And Drug Administration has allowed for some fish to be sold under different names. Would you like to eat a Patagonian toothfish? I didn't think so. This is the reason why the Patagonian toothfish is also known and sold as Chilean sea bass.
Fish being mislabeled might not seem like a big deal, at least not to you. But some mislabeled fish can be dangerous to those who eat them. Pregnant women should avoid eating fish with mercury, but some "Red Snapper" was actually a fish containing high levels of the poison.
I never liked fish to begin with, but because of the results of this study I will never order seafood again.
Next time you go out to eat, take a hard look at what is on your plate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/us/survey-finds-that-fish-are-often-not-what-label-says.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
This is a very interesting article. I too have heard of these wrongly labeled fish. This is a very big issue as like stated in the article some fish can be poisonous to people. I think that the vendors to an extent are to blame, because they are selling the fish to people they should have a minimal understanding of how to tell the difference from one kind of fish to another. Something to consider though is that fish are hard to catch. Therefore the businesses that catch and distribute the fish will put “filler fish” in to make more money. This is still unacceptable however, you should have to label these fish in the can or on the plate in front of you as there true name. This is similar to how Leeuwenhoek thought that the cells were tiny monsters, which shows that things are not necessarily what they first appear to be.
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