Fraude y sustitución de especies en la venta de pescados en Perú

Abstract

El mar nos ha dado de comer desde mucho antes de la aparición del emblemático cebiche en nuestras mesas. Culturas preincas, como Caral, ya consumían la anchoveta peruana. Hoy nos enorgullecemos del cebiche, plato bandera del Perú y patrimonio cultural de la Nación. Pero ¿qué tanto conocemos sobre nuestro mar y sus recursos? Aún más, ¿sabemos algo de la compleja red humana que trabaja para que nuestro 'cebichito' llegue a la mesa?La cadena de comercialización está compuesta por al menos cinco puntos, desde la extracción hasta la preparación final en un restaurante o la venta en minoristas. Es en este camino donde los pescados cambian de nombre. Puede que el filete de tollo sea en realidad tiburón martillo bebé o que el cebiche de mero ni siquiera sea un pescado de mar, sino de acuicultura como basa o tilapia.

Framing Effects on Attitudes and Intentions Toward Shark Meat Consumption in Lima, Peru

“…The three messages used in this study represent popular themes surrounding the sustainable seafood conversation, both locally in Peru and globally (Biffi et al, 2020;Farmery et al, 2020;Shiffman et al, 2020). In recent years, Peru has experienced an increase in research associated with sustainable seafood and a corresponding uptick in popular press coverage on shark meat consumption and seafood mislabeling, including recommendations on how to avoid being cheated (El Comercio, 2018;Oceana Peru, 2021). These recommendations place the burden on consumers, often requiring considerable effort (e.g., learning to differentiate bony fish from cartilaginous fish or purchasing molecular identification kits that includes sample collection tools and molecular laboratory services; El Comercio, 2018).…”

“…Moreover, popular media and gray literature have seemingly ignored the issue of mercury as a common contaminant in fish with significant human health effects. Interestingly, seafood mislabeling reports and associated social media coverage have mentioned allergies, parasites, chemicals, antibiotics, and natural toxins as potential human health risks associated with mislabeled seafood consumption but have avoided the topic of mercury, despite a large body of research on the deleterious health effects of mercury poisoning (El Comercio, 2018;Oceana-ProDelphinus, 2018.…”

“…However, there is evidence that the efforts sought by these initiatives, like changes in purchasing decisions, may be ineffective due to mislabeling and unsafe due to high mercury content in recommended species (Biffi et al, 2020). Recent research on mislabeling in Peru has been covered extensively by the media (La Republica, 2018;Machuca-Castillo, 2018;Sierra-Praeli, 2018) and researchers have argued that increasing consumers' awareness of the mislabeling problem may help in discouraging this practice (Oceana-ProDelphinus, 2018). However, to reduce the incidence of mislabeling, efforts like the enforcement of extant regulations are crucial (Mariani et al, 2014).…”