Do you eat fish?

[GWN7]

Thought the horse meat in Europe was bad, guess what? It's now fish in North America.

(NaturalNews) Just when you thought eating fish was iffy enough due to Fukushima radiation, the gulf oil spill, mercury and other toxins found in fish, one of the largest seafood fraud investigations in the world to date has found that 59 percent of the tuna Americans consume is not really tuna. Worse still, most of the fake tuna was found to actually be a fish known for causing gastrointestinal problems.

The non-profit ocean protection group Oceana collected more than 1,200 samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states from 2010 to 2012 to determine if they were honestly labeled. DNA testing found that one-third of the 1,215 seafood samples were mislabeled, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines.

The fish Oceana found to be most often mislabeled was red snapper, where 87 percent of the samples collected were actually one of several other varieties of fish - such as perch and tilapia. Perhaps the most disturbing finding was that 84 percent of the fake fish substituted for second place tuna was escolar - a fish which can cause explosive, oily, and orange diarrhea.

Escolar, often mistakenly labeled in raw form as a variety of tuna called "butterfish," is a type of snake mackerel that is unable to metabolize the wax esters called gemplyotoxin which are naturally found in its diet. The esters are called gempylotoxin, and are very similar to castor oil or mineral oil and the esters are what gives escolar an oily texture similar to tuna. As a result of the esters, eating full portions of escolar can cause severe gastrointestinal problems.

The fraudulently labeled seafood was found at sushi bars, restaurants and grocery stores with sushi bars being found to be far more likely to have the mislabeled fish. Oceana did not find a single sushi bar which had no dishonestly labeled fish.

Though the Oceana investigation did not determine where the fraud occurred in the chain from ocean to consumer, the reasons for the labeling fraud are obvious: greed and availability.

In practically every instance of mislabeling, a cheaper variety of fish was substituted for a more expensive one. Often, price differences are due to availability. Red snapper supplies, for example, are very limited as the levels of the popular fish have been severely depleted far beyond demand. Likewise, popular varieties of tuna, including albacore, yellowfin and bigeye, have been significantly depleted from over-fishing. Even the most common type of tuna, skipjack, may soon be in danger due to increased fishing pressure.


Other highlights of the Oceana investigation:
• Mislabeling was found in 27 of the 46 fish types tested (59 percent)
• Salmon, snapper, cod, tuna, sole, halibut and grouper were the top collected fish types
• Only seven of the 120 red snapper samples were honestly labeled
• Between one-fifth to more than one-third of the halibut, grouper, cod and Chilean sea bass samples were mislabeled
• 44 percent of all the grocery stores, restaurants and sushi venues visited sold mislabeled seafood

Today, more than 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, and fewer than one percent is inspected specifically for fraud by the government.

Seafood is a popular, and theoretically healthy, food choice for many Americans. Both the American Heart Association and new dietary guidelines from the FDA recommend eating eight ounces of seafood, or two seafood meals, a week. Seafood is a global commodity and is one of the most commonly traded food items in the world.

As the Oceana investigation has revealed, it is also one of the most common food items likely to be used to defraud consumers.

Sources:

The Atlantic — News and analysis on politics, business, culture, technology, national, international, and life – TheAtlantic.com
Home | Oceana North America
WWF - WWF
Home | Oceana North America
Eating Fish Risky Due to Mercury and Heavy Metal Contamination
Use Caution When Eating Escolar | The Kitchn


Learn more: Oceana investigation uncovers massive consumer fraud in mislabeled fish

[mikeesik]

Id give it all another 28 years and all is said and done.
Why is it that the Gov's dont deal with the obvious problem.
OVER FUKIN POPULATION !!

[M.D. Holloway]

Its tough to fake a fish when you buy it with the head and skin on it...

[aigel]

I try to catch most of it myself. +1 on buying it whole at the Asian market.

G

[GWN7]

There was a big crackdown in Minnesota a few years ago. People were being sold (and fed) Zander (from Europe) instead of Walleye. TV station did a story on it.

Walleye or Zander? What Are You Really Eating? | kare11.com

Sacred is a strong word to describe anything outside a church. Yet after generations of fishing openers and trips to the cabin, sacred may be the best word to describe the relationship that has developed between Minnesotans and their walleye. Minnesota consumes more walleye than any other state. Walleye is Minnesota’s state fish. But KARE 11 has learned the fish being advertised as walleye on the menus of several Twin Cities restaurants isn’t walleye at all, but a related species from Eastern Europe called zander. During the past few weeks, KARE 11 employees ordered walleye at more than a dozen restaurants. Samples of those meals were shipped to Therion International, a private laboratory in New York specializing in the identification of fish and animals through DNA testing. Those tests revealed the “Beer Battered Walleye” on the menu at Spectators Grille & Bar in Savage was really zander. The “Northwoods Walleye” on the menu at the Sunshine Factory Restaurant and Bistro in New Hope was zander too. But why would a restaurant do such a thing? Money is one explanation. Zander is cheaper than walleye. “I can understand the incentive, but I don’t agree with it,” says Brad Rebers, a manager at Tavern on Grand in St. Paul. DNA tests show the walleye a KARE 11 employee ordered at Tavern on Grand was indeed walleye, as advertised. Tavern on Grand sells 50,000 pounds of walleye a year. Based on walleye and zander prices quoted by a Minneapolis fish distributor, Tavern on Grand could save $2.00 per pound by switching to zander. That’s a potential savings of $100,000 per year. But Rebers says he wouldn’t do it. “I can look you in the eye and say, no, I would not be tempted.” Rebers calls it false advertising, “I think you jeopardize your business in the long run if you do that.” Like Tavern on Grand, Maynard’s Restaurant in Excelsior advertises walleye as its specialty. But DNA tests reveal the walleye purchased at Maynard’s was zander. Yet when a KARE 11 employee asked a server at Maynard’s where the walleye came from, she responded, “It’s Canadian walleye.” Is it any wonder Terry Bennett takes offense? Bennett makes his living fishing for real Canadian walleye on Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. “They’re selling it illegally, as far as I’m concerned,” says Bennett, who hauls up another fish from his net and says, “there’s only one walleye, and this is it right here.” Walleye produces income for 1,000 commercial fishermen on Lake Winnipeg, and Minnesota is the most important market for Canada’s government owned Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation based in Winnipeg. Freshwater’s Vice President of Operations, Steven Kendall, says there’s nothing his company can do to prevent zander from coming into Minnesota, “You’d just like it to be out in the open, and not masquerading as some product that it really isn’t.” The menu at Jake’s Sports Café in Crystal advertises “Canadian Walleye,” while DNA tests reveal a KARE 11 employee was actually served european zander. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a name for what the restaurants are doing. It’s species substitution, and it’s against the law. The FDA publishes a list of acceptable market names for fish sold in the United States. Walleye, for instance, can be legally sold as Walleye or Walleye Pike. But the FDA does not allow zander to be sold as Walleye. The FDA’s reasoning is sound, according to the Curator of Fishes at the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota. Andrew Simons says the lineage that lead to the walleye and the lineage that lead to the zander split about twelve million years ago. “That’s pretty substantial,” says Simons, “they are definitely different species.” Yet within the past few years zander has been quietly sneaking onto the plates of more and more restaurant customers, who have every reason to believe they are eating walleye. Customers at places like Majors Sports Café in Woodbury, where the menu reads Canadian walleye, but DNA tests reveal a KARE 11 employee was served zander. The Walleye listed on the menu at the St. Croix Casino in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, turned out to be zander too. story continues

[Jim Bremner]

After the 3rd time in a few years of getting Very bad explosive diarrehea in my early 20's I stopped eating fish. to be honest my belly tightens up if I smell fish today! I can't handle the smell in my home.

[HardDrive]

Dad caught this Cobia off Big Pine Key, FL a couple weeks ago. Damn right I eat fish. Yum.

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by mikeesik

Id give it all another 28 years and all is said and done.
Why is it that the Gov's dont deal with the obvious problem.
OVER FUKIN POPULATION !!

Yeah, kill dem Jews.

[look 171]

YOu get what you pay for, buy whale meat. green text

[Tobra]

I quit eating fish after that Japanese tsunami,






even gave up the porpoise bacon.

Seriously though, I did quit eating tuna, pretty much all ocean seafood. Something out of a nice river or stream, sure. Never got sick from eating fish that I recall, and I don't get sick much. Hardly ever eat beef, but I like me some pork.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by mikeesik

Id give it all another 28 years and all is said and done.
Why is it that the Gov's dont deal with the obvious problem.
OVER FUKIN POPULATION !!

As long as sex is more popular than death, we'll have an overpopulation problem...

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

As long as sex is more popular than death, we'll have an overpopulation problem...

Well played, sir.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

As long as sex is more popular than death, we'll have an overpopulation problem...

From what I keep being told, the market is self correcting if you don't regulate it.

[petrolhead611]

Nostril Cheese you are a mindless bigot. I am currently in two minds about asking to have you banned from this forum

[911_Dude]

Originally Posted by nostril cheese

yeah, kill dem jews.

wtf?

[911SauCy]

You said. Orange, oily, explosive diarrhea ...

I-Pad is drenched in coffee...

[dafischer]

Uhh, guys....green font = sarcasm

[jcommin]

Yes, like some have posted, I buy the entire fish. I go to fish markets in the city. I buy meat at meat markets too. Very seldom do I buy fish or meat at chain stores.

[Taz's Master]

Wait until you find out what is being sold as calamari.

[URY914]

Gator is good and is sorta like a fish right?

Manatees from Florida is sweet meat.