Labelling of fish all at sea as cheap imports are sold as cod

Data collated by the Food Standards Agency suggest around one fish in seven sold in shops, restaurants or fish and chip shops may not be what it is stated to be.

Of 303 checks carried out by councils on packaged, frozen or chilled fish in catering businesses in 2011, 41 did not meet labelling requirements.

In the majority of cases, fish which had been described as cod turned out to be another species such as haddock, whiting or pollock.

A previous study by academics at University College, Dublin, found seven per cent of products labelled as cod in the UK and 28 per cent in Ireland contained substitutes, such as pollock and whiting.

The York-based National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) said they were concerned about imports of farmed fish like pangasius, a type of catfish native to the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam, being substituted for fish caught by UK fishermen.

Its chief executive, Barrie Deas, said: “As a body representing fishermen across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the NFFO welcomes this study into fish mislabelling.

“We too have concerns that cheap, low quality imports of species like tilapia, pangasius and Alaskan pollock are being substituted for fish caught in our waters and mislabelled as more familiar species.

“It is not only consumers who are victims in this illegal trade but also UK fishermen who see their quayside prices undercut.

“We are actively campaigning for complete transparency in fish labelling and believe that consumers can be confident that fish caught in EU waters are correctly labelled.

“This issue relates to imported fish only.

“We support rigorous controls to ensure consumers are fully aware of what they are buying and continue to see fish as a sustainable, traceable food source.”

Researcher Stefano Mariani, of Salford University, who took part in the study in Dublin in 2010, is now taking part in a Europe-wide study, involving the UK as well as Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany.

It involves DNA testing to check that eight species, including cod, haddock, monkfish, ling and hake, are what they are purported to be.

He told the Yorkshire Post mislabelling of fish in the UK was “comparatively low”, compared to Ireland and the United States, because of the strength and bargaining power of organisations like the National Federation of Fish Friers.

He said: “The real problem is when there is someone making money out of it and calling it a different thing.

“That is not fair. If I want to buy and eat pangasius I will not be led to believe I am buying something else.”

He claimed their first paper on fish mislabelling in 2010 had been one of the reasons that the Irish government started testing mincemeat – leading eventually to the horsemeat scandal revelations. He said: “This is a relatively new area of investigation.

“It is only something we really started looking at in the last 10 years.

“If you analyse studies to date the UK does not feature in the list of the worst offenders.

“There is in place an institutional control and interest inside the industry and a governance level where most operators are interested in stamping this out.”

Farmed seafood already accounts for about half of all the fish and shellfish consumed globally and Mr Mariani said a lot of the fish used were “perfectly edible and from possibly more sustainable stocks”.