Without you knowing it, you could be paying more money for a fish that is, after all, cheaper, and that has been mislabeled. It may even be consuming a protected species. But there are ways to protect yourself.
If you eat seafood, you may be unknowingly consuming an endangered species without realizing it due to mislabeling of the fish. This The problem is global and happens when the species of fish we think we are buying is not the one we actually receivetells .
It may not be an intentional situation, but it is also possible for sellers to inflate the price of the product they sell by calling it something else. And it’s not easy to unmask liars.
A seafood product was considered incorrectly labeled if it was sold under a name that is not on the fish list for the species identified by DNA.
But the Fish List allows the use of ambiguous names, meaning the same name can be applied to multiple species. Snapper, for example, can refer to 96 different speciestuna at 14 and cod at two.
Various studies have been developed in this sense, which have discovered that the problem is much more serious than we thought.
One of the most recent is from September this year, and the Mislabeling and ambiguous market names on invertebrate and bony fish products — finned fish, such as cod, salmon and tuna — in Calgary, Canada, between 2014 and 2020.
University students collected samples of 347 fish and 109 seafood products — which include shrimp, octopus and oysters — from Calgary restaurants and grocery stores. These samples were then genetically tested using a species-specific marker called DNA.
And the findings were surprising. In Calgary, 1 in 5 fish labels are incorrectly attached. 100% of the snapper, for example, was mislabeled.
What’s more, you’d be happy to discover that you’re eating one endangered fish? Three Pacific cod products analyzed by the youth were identified as Atlantic cod, which is vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Also two eel products were identified as European eel, in critical danger of extinction.
In addition to putting endangered species at risk and inflating the price of fish, which, after all, is not that expensive, this situation It can even put your health at risk. One of the young people bought “white tuna” at a sushi buffet and ended up in the hospital — it was, after all, a school fish, a fish that is harmful to digestion.
How to avoid being scammed?
If you eat shellfish, the situation is more difficult to avoid, as many of them are under threat and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish which species we are purchasing.
However, one tip is buy seafood that is certified sustainableas these have been shown to have incorrect labeling.
Furthermore, it is more difficult to mislabel whole, head-on fishso you should choose to buy these if you can.
Also try to purchase products that clearly indicate the exact species that is being purchased. Sometimes this type of product can be more expensive, but if you can do this, you are taking less risk of not only being scammed, but sacrificing your health.
