Grilled sardines. (Photo Copyright: FIS)

Seafood fraud among Canadian retailers is minimal, states NGO

A countrywide SeaChoice research project determined that seafood fraud in Canada is minimal but found that on-package seafood labels generally lack critical information that would allow consumers to make informed purchases.

To carry out the project, SeaChoice partnered with the University of Guelph Centre for Biodiversity Genomics’ Life Scanner program and engaged 300 volunteer “citizen scientists” across Canada. Each volunteer was provided with two DNA ID kits to sample seafood in their local grocery stores.

The results show that just 1 per cent of the seafood tested across Canada was not what the label said it was, and 7 per cent of tested seafood was mislabelled where fish were sold under a name that was not compliant with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s labelling regulations.

In contrast, a 2008 study of North American retailers and restaurants found 25 per cent substitution or mislabelling.

“Over the past decade, most Canadian retailers have adopted sustainable seafood policies that have likely contributed to improvements in the accuracy of seafood labels,” says Colleen Turlo, SeaChoice representative from the Ecology Action Centre.

“The good news is that retailer efforts appear to have significantly reduced actual fraud. That said, more work needs to be done as there is still seafood being sold with noncompliant and generic common names,” Turlo pointed out.

Canada only requires seafood labels to display the species’ common name. However, having additional information about seafood allows buyers to make decisions with more confidence, whether they are choosing food for its environmental sustainability, social responsibility, health reasons, supporting local fishers and fish farmers or simply wanting to know exactly what is in a package.

Meanwhile, a recent Eco-Analytics survey of 3,000 Canadians found over 80 per cent agreed, “All seafood sold in Canada should be labelled with information identifying the species, where it was caught, and how it was caught.”

SeaChoice’s study results show wide variations in the information available on seafood labels from retailer to retailer, and species to species. Of the near 500 samples processed:

• 5 per cent included the species scientific name;
• 16 per cent included the country of harvest;
• 58 per cent included whether the seafood was wild-caught or farmed;
• 4.5 per cent of labels contained information about the gear type used or farming method.

“We know that other countries have moved to require more information on seafood products, to improve transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain and regain the trust of consumers,” concludes Kelly Roebuck, SeaChoice representative from the Living Oceans Society.
 
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