Scientists Expose Rampant Mislabeling
By PLOS
.webp)
A DNA analysis study of salmon samples from
grocery stores and sushi restaurants in Seattle, Washington, found that 18
percent were mislabeled. Tracie Delgado and her colleagues at Seattle Pacific
University, Washington, USA, recently published these findings in the
open-access journal PLOS ONE.
Washington State is one of the top suppliers of wild salmon
eaten in the United States. The price of salmon depends on the species and
whether it is farmed or wild-caught. Prior studies have revealed frequent
mislabeling of salmon in Washington markets and restaurants. In 2013, the state
made it illegal to mislabel salmon, citing negative effects for customers,
fishers, distributors, vendors, and ecosystems.
To help illuminate the impact of that legislation, Delgado
and colleagues collected and analyzed salmon samples from 67 grocery stores and
52 sushi restaurants across Seattle from the fall of 2022 through the fall of
2023.
DNA analysis revealed that 18 percent of all 119 fish were
mislabeled. Mislabeling farmed salmon as wild occurred for 32.3 percent of the
restaurant samples and none of the grocery samples. Mislabeling of one
wild-caught species as another occurred for 38.7 percent of the restaurant
samples and 11.1 percent of the grocery samples.
Financial Impact of Mislabeling
Financial analysis revealed that mislabeling at sushi
restaurants was at the expense of the customer, while mislabeling at stores had
no significant effect. The researchers note that it is unknown where along the
supply chain mislabeling tends to occur, but that it is unlikely at the point
of harvest.
Salmon mislabeling rates in grocery stores vs sushi
restaurants in Seattle, WA. Mislabeling rates identified by DNA sequencing are
displayed (percent per category) as stacked bars. Percent per stack was
calculated as follows = [(total mislabeled samples in a category)/(total
samples of all categories)]*100%. Correctly labeled samples are also shown.
Credit: Garcia et al., 2024, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0
A prior study found a 20 percent rate of mislabeling in
Washington between 2009 and 2011, and a 2 percent rate was observed in Seattle
in 2012, soon after a nearby major distributor was sentenced to jail for
fraudulently mislabeling salmon. The new rates cannot be directly compared to
the old, given different study designs and other underlying factors. However,
as most samples in the new study were collected when salmon were in season, the
researchers expressed surprise at the high rate of mislabeling they found.
On the basis of the findings, the researchers call for
continued development and enforcement of legislation against salmon fraud.
Tracie Delgado adds: “Despite recent legislation that makes
mislabeling of salmon illegal, salmon mislabeling fraud is still a problem in
Seattle. We found Seattle sushi restaurants are far more likely to give you
farmed salmon in place of vendor-claimed wild salmon. 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. 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.”
Reference: “Fishy business in Seattle: Salmon mislabeling
fraud in sushi restaurants vs grocery stores” by Jewel L. Garcia, Yennifer A.
Gaspar, Angelique Djekoundade, Mhicca Dalere, Asmaa A. Al-awadi, Marjolene
Allossogbe, Thania C. P. Allossogbe, Itzel S. Aparicio, Hannah N. Buller, Hera
Beatrice F. Cadelina, Isabella K. Camarillo, Kayla Case, Abigail E. Dean, Sara
M. Dean, Jordyn F. DeJong, Elizabeth Delgado, Renske J. Dupar, Emma N. Ely, Mia
C. Ewing, Delina N. Filli, Spencer E. Fleming, Mackenzie R. Garrett, Blair P.
Graves, Marie M. Hafez, Weston P. Hanson, Alexander D. Heller, Anthony J.
Hernandez, Elizabeth K. Horton, Ellie G. Jancola, Lauryn A. Keith, Madison J.
Knoke, Jared D. Larkin, Andre’ G. Marineau, Fabiola Martin-Ortiz, Olivia L.
Mayer, Yolanda M. Mendoza, Peter V. Nalivayko, Nguyen Nguyen, Eloisa T. Nguyen,
Henry Nguyen, Griffin L. Ovenell, Lay G. Paw, Spencer R. Raymond, Janetta J.
Redzic, Madelyn T. Rice, Ashlie T. Rodrigo, Jonathan M. Savell, Ben R.
Sheirbon, Dulce S. Torres, Kalena A. Warrick, Eric S. Long, Timothy A. Nelson
and Tracie Delgado, 6 November 2024, PLOS ONE.
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0311522
This project was funded by the Seattle Pacific University
Biology lab fund.
