Fish mislabeling at fish-and-chip restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland is more common at restaurants that don’t have Marine Stewardship Council certification, the organization found.
As part of its routine MSC authentication tests, the organization’s DNA study found a fish mislabeling at a rate of over eight percent in non-MSC certified fish-and-chip chops, versus 1.64 percent in shops with an MSC certificate. The non-certified restaurants were 5.36 times more likely to serve the wrong species.
Out of all the battered fish samples from 122 shops in the U.K. and Ireland (half of which were MSC-certified), five out of the nearby 61 non-MSC shops (8.2 percent) served fish that differed from the species advertised. For example, one restaurant was served cheaper whiting (Merlangius merlangus) instead of cod (Gadus morhua).
However, only one sample from the 61 MSC certified shops (1.64 percent) was found to be haddock instead of cod.
“British consumers are more savvy than ever when it comes to food provenance. They want to know exactly what is in their food and where it comes from – especially when they’re choosing fish specifically for its environmental credentials,” said George Clark, MSC’s senior commercial manager for the U.K.
The study results indicate a “marked improvement” in fish mislabeling in the industry, according to MSC. The Institute of Global Food Security (IGFS) and the consumer organization,Which?, found that 16 percent of fish were mislabeled in 2014.
In addition, U.K. fish-and-chip restaurants are far ahead of the global seafood mislabeling rate of 30 percent, according to MSC.
“It’s reassuring that the level of fish mislabeling in the U.K. is much lower than other reported regions in the world. However, the fact that the MSC-certified shops performed so much better is a clear indication of the importance of the program. Not only does it help assure customers of the sustainability of their fish, but also that they are getting what they’ve paid for,” IGFS founder Chris Elliott said in a statement provided by MSC.
