| Abstract: |
The ocean conservation group Oceana is continuing its effort to expose what it calls "seafood fraud", releasing a report on Thursday in which it claims to have found 44% of the fish samples it tested in five Canadian cities to be mislabeled. Oceana Canada said it collected 382 samples of seafood from 177 restaurants and retailers in the Canadian cities of Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria. For its report, Seafood Fraud and Mislabeling across Canada, the group said it focused on fish species that other studies have shown are prone to being mislabeled because of their economic value, availability or popularity. In addition to the 168 samples it found that did not meet Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) standards, the organization said it discovered: As many as 64% of the businesses visited made mistakes, including 70% of restaurants and 46% of retailers. Restaurants mislabeled 52% of the samples tested, while retailers mislabeled 22%.In nearly three-quarters of the instances of mislabeling (124 of 168 samples), the fish listed were of a more expensive variety than the fish sold. |
