A Consumer Reports investigation reveals that more than one-fifth of 190 pieces of seafood bought at retail stores and restaurants in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were not what they claimed to be – either mislabeled as different species of fish, incompletely labeled, or misidentified by employees. The report can be found in the December 2011 issue of the magazine and online at www.ConsumerReports.org. Among the findings:
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Only four of the 14 types of fish – Chilean sea bass, coho salmon, bluefin and ahi tuna – were always identified correctly.
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18% of samples didn’t match the names on placards, labels, or
menus. Fish were incorrectly passed off as catfish, grey sole, grouper,
halibut, king salmon, lemon sole, red snapper, sockeye salmon, and
yellowfin tuna.
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4% were incompletely labeled or misidentified by employees.
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One sample, labeled as grouper, was actually tilefish, which
averages three times as much mercury as grouper. The FDA advises women
of childbearing age and children to avoid tilefish entirely.
