tuna or "laxative of the seas"?

Do you really know what made its way to your plate? The majority of fish samples collected in grocery stores and restaurants during a survey conducted last summer in Montreal were poorly identified. In more than a third of the cases, the fish were downright of another species: often cheaper, sometimes risky for the health.

Posted on October 16, 2019 at 5:00 am

Daphne Cameron
The Press

61% of badly labeled fish in Montreal

This is the second time Oceana Canada has conducted a study on the labeling of fish and seafood sold in Canada. The first exercise was conducted in 2017 and 2018 in five major Canadian cities. Not less than 44% of the 382 samples collected in Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax contravened Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) labeling standards. Last summer, the charity working to protect Canada's oceans continued its investigation in Montreal. The results obtained by The Press, will be made public today. DNA tests conducted by the TRU-ID laboratory in Guelph showed that 61% of the 90 samples were poorly identified.

45 samples out of 61 poorly presented in restaurants

In nearly 35% of the cases – 31 samples – the fish were of a different species. Three samples were even prohibited for sale in Canada. The remaining problem samples were poorly identified under Canadian federal standards, ie the name on the label did not match the acceptable trade name on the species' "species list". CFIA. For example: the generic name "tuna" is misused on the market to designate 12 varieties that should be named more clearly. The problem is more pronounced in restaurants: 45 of the 61 samples were poorly presented. In grocery stores, 34% of fish were falsely identified.

16% of fish replaced by potentially harmful species

Of the species clearly substituted for another: 16% had been replaced by a kind of fish that could have serious consequences. Do you know the escolar? This fish, dubbed "laxative of the seas", is banned in Japan, South Korea and Italy. Its sale is allowed here, even though its consumption can lead to diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. It is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women. In Quebec, escolar was sold under the name "white tuna" or "butterfish". "Yellow-tailed flounders" have also been sold as Japanese amberjacks. This fish may contain a natural toxin called ciguatera, which can lead to long-term debilitating neurological effects.

$ 78.93 per kilogram for fraudulent salmon

According to Sayara Thurston, Oceana's food fraud campaign manager, mislabelled fish are mostly replaced by cheaper varieties. Here are two examples from Montreal last summer: Pacific wild salmon at $ 78.93 per kilogram were replaced by farmed Atlantic salmon at $ 34.94 per kilogram. Common striped bass at $ 75.29 per kilogram was replaced by dorado at $ 19.95 per kilogram. No trade has been identified by the authors. "Studies show that fraud is happening at every stage of the food chain, so businesses can also fall victim to it. It's really a problem that needs a solution that comes from the government, "says M^me Thurston.

About three times less fraud in Europe in three years

From boat to plate, Canada must have a true traceability system, according to Oceana. Since the establishment of such a system in 2014, Europe has seen cases of fish food fraud melt from 23% in 2011 to 7% in 2014. "We are encouraged to see in the electoral platforms that there are parties that are committed to (dealing with) this problem. We see that the Liberals, the Conservatives and the NDP have made commitments to this end, "says Sayara Thurston. The latter also emphasizes that Canadian companies that export their products to Europe are already required to subscribe to them. "Right now, we're asking more from Canadian industries than industries from elsewhere that want to sell their products in Canada," says M^me Thurston.