According to a University of Guelph study many consumers do not trust cod as the DNA shows the fish are often mislabeled for sale and the consumers are paying high prices for that. The study tested the DNA of 100 fish samples taken from restaurants and markets in Toronto, Guelph, Ont., and New York City. According to the researcher 25 percent of the fish tested were mislabeled. They also said that the study showed, for example, that Atlantic Halibut was often sold as Pacific Halibut and samples of Atlantic cod and Acadian redfish were mislabelled as the pricier Red Snapper.
Robert Hanner, the associate director for the Canadian Barcode of Life Network, informed that this not only raises concerns of consumer fraud, but also public health. He also said that a person could have allergies to a certain species and if it’s mislabelled that could have dangerous consequences. It is found that some labels for endangered fish species had been swapped. According to Hanner consumers may think they are doing the right thing for the environment by buying a certain type of fish that is eco-friendly when really they could actually still be buying exploited species.
The researcher team initiated the initiated the project because she was curious about checking the genetic fingerprinting of sushi samples.
