It’s the law in Washington state. Salmon must be labeled “wild caught” or “farmed.” But how accurate is that label in your favorite sushi restaurant or grocery store?
Seattle Pacific University biology professors and undergraduate students just released the results of a yearlong research project that identified salmon fraud in Seattle grocery stores and sushi restaurants.
Led by SPU Biology Professor Tracie Delgado, the research group acquired salmon samples from 67 grocery stores and 52 sushi restaurants. DNA from each salmon sample was isolated and tested to identify the fish species. Overall, the study revealed Seattle sushi restaurants were far more likely to sell farmed salmon mislabeled as wild salmon as compared to grocery stores.
Their results:
Wild salmon being substituted with another salmon species (either another wild salmon or farmed)
38.7%: in sushi restaurant samples
11.1% in grocery store samples
Substitutions of vendor-claimed wild salmon with farmed salmon
32.3% in sushi restaurants
0% in grocery stores
Overall, sushi restaurants were less accurate than grocery stores in properly labeling their salmon, especially when identifying it as wild-caught versus farmed.
All salmon substitutions in sushi restaurants harmed the customer financially as they were given a cheaper market-priced fish. In grocery stores, however, economic loss to customers due to salmon mislabeling was insignificant.
“Failure to properly label wild salmon is a serious problem because it prevents accurate tracking of supply chains and therefore makes it more difficult to sustain and conserve wild salmon,” says Delgado. “It’s important to continue to develop and enforce legislation that requires accurate seafood labeling, from fisher to plate, and educate the public on how commercial salmon fraud impacts wild salmon conservation.”
Posted: Wednesday, November 6, 2024