According to Seafood Services Australia (SSA) their new guide would help consumers identify reputable retailers and restaurant operators as well as species names in an effort to crack down on seafood mislabeling and fraud. In its website SSA has listed seafood supermarkets and restaurants that have committed to use only species names sanctioned by the federal government. The goal is to prevent unscrupulous dealers from mislabeling seafood to pass off less expensive species as more expensive ones, says SSA.
The website also contains list of names of 4,500 seafood species and took six years to assemble for example barramundi was previously known as barra, giant perch, palmer or silver barramundi; John Dory was previously known as doorkeeper’s fish, dory keparu, kuparu or St. Peter’s fish; and snapper was previously known as bedford snapper, cockney, pink snapper, pinkie, red bream, schnapper, squire or nobby.
It is informed that the project was funded in part by a $500,000 federal grant. The SSA and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation also contributed funding. Australia Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Tony Burke opined that this will help to take some of the stress out of seafood shopping. SSA Managing Director Ted Loveday explained that consumers can be confident that they are getting value for money at these businesses which display the scheme’s distinctive blue-and-white logo.
