Advocacy Group Allleges Much “Wild” Salmon Is Mislabeled

Conservationist group Oceana has issued a report purportedly finding
that 43 percent of salmon samples purchased from U.S. restaurants
and grocery stores were mislabeled. As a follow-up to a larger study,
Oceana researchers DNA tested 82 salmon samples and compared them
to the names under which restaurants and grocers sold them. Of the 32
salmon samples sold as “wild salmon,” the tests indicated 69 percent
were farmed; “Alaskan” or “Pacific” salmon was also likely to be mislabeled,
with five of the nine samples discovered to be farmed Atlantic
salmon. Large grocery stores were most likely to advertise their products
correctly, while restaurants mislabeled 67 percent of fish offerings. The
report further notes that salmon sold out-of-season was much more
likely to be mislabeled.

“The federal government should provide consumers with assurances that
the seafood they purchase is safe, legally caught and honestly labeled,”
Beth Lowell, senior campaign director at Oceana, said in an October 28,
2015, press release. “Traceability needs to be required for all seafood
to ensure important information about which species it is, whether it
was farmed or wild caught, and how and where it was caught follows all
seafood from boat (or farm) to plate. Providing consumers with more
information about their seafood allows them to make more informed
decisions, whether it is for health, economic or environmental reasons.”

Issue 583