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Food -
Groceries
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Written by Omie Ismail
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010 04:07 |
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Page 1 of 2
Have you ever ordered Pacific Red Snapper in San Francisco or San Diego? How  about a nice Grouper on a Florida vacation? Did that Pacific Salmon dinner in Chicago strain your dinning out budget? If you've recently indulged in any of these premium priced seafoods, chances are you got scammed and in a big way.
The dirty little secret in the fish trade is that a very high percentage of fish is mislabeled and not entirely by accident. In 1997, the National Seafood Laboratory concluded a 10 year study showing that 37% of all seafood was mislabeled. So there's a chance in three that the fish on your plate is the wrong fish. The mislabeling of fish is an industry wide practice. Part of the problem is that a lot of our seafood is imported from countries that make the consistent 'mistake' of mislabeling their fish products and distribute it to wholesalers who make windfall profits passing off cheap fish for more expensive varieties. Everyone from your grocery store to your favorite restaurant is either directly or indirectly caught up in this bait and switch scam.
Take the popular Red Snapper. Eighty percent of Red Snappers sold in the U.S. are some other kind of fish. In California, you can legally sell Rockfish as Red Snapper. Tilapia, Channel Catfish, and Mahi Mahi have all been 'mistaken' for Red Snapper. In Florida, where Grouper is a popular fish, there is nearly the same level of mislabeling. One Sunshine State study determined that 70% of 'Groupers' were cheaper substitutes such like Hake or Alaska Pollack. Maybe that's where they get their name. You can get any group of fish and mislable them as 'Groupers.'
There has been widespread and alarming reports about the dangers of farmed fish both domestic and those imported from Asia and Europe. That's why many health conscious consumers are willing to pay a premium for wild caught Pacific Salmon. In 2005, the New York Times bought Wild Caught Salmon at 8 New York Stores including the famous Fulton Fish market. 75% of the stores were actually selling farm raised salmon and passing it for the real thing. It's not just regular consumers who got fooled, many chefs from leading restaurants could't tell the difference either.
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