Unmasking seafood mislabeling in U.S. markets: DNA barcoding as a unique technology for food authentication and quality control

Low mislabeling rates indicate marked improvements in European seafood market operations

“…A second line of evidence emerging from our Europe‐wide dataset contrasts sharply with even the most recent investigations in the US retail sector (Warner et al . 2013; Khaksar et al . 2015), which document mislabeling rates between 12% and 41%.…”

“…Here, we present results of the largest seafood authenticity investigation conducted to date, spanning six European countries and nine different seafood products/species (Table 1). The analysis was designed to determine the current level of labeling accuracy in wild fisheries products in the European Union (EU) mainstream seafood retail sector, and to examine labeling accuracy in the context of EU regulations, the public perception of seafood authenticity, and similar recent multi-state, multi-species surveys conducted in North America (Warner et al 2013;FDA 2014;Khaksar et al 2015).…”

An Updated Review of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning: Clinical, Epidemiological, Environmental, and Public Health Management

“…Accurate species identification is also relevant to customers wishing to make informed choices to avoid CFP high risk species. However, studies suggest that internationally, comprehensive information about fish products, such as the commercial name, scientific name, and geographical source, are often not available [298], and that 25%–40% of seafood in commercial channels may be mislabeled by species [299,300,301,302,303,304]. In addition, international seafood supply chains are generally longer and more complex than those of locally or domestically traded fish.…”

Rethinking solutions to seafood fraud

“…Research on seafood mislabeling in restaurants follows a common pattern: publication of results, immediate media coverage and calls for action, decreased media attention over time, and subsequent publication of another study with renewed calls for action. For example, three recent DNA-based surveys of Los Angeles (California) restaurants found mislabeling rates of up to 52% (Warner et al 2012;Khaksar et al 2015;Willette et al 2017), generating substantial media coverage. While helping to inform proposed legislation on counteracting seafood fraud in the US (Upton 2015), including the implementation of new programs targeted at foreign imports (eg NOAA Seafood Import Monitoring Program 2016), these and other studies have unfortunately done little to reduce seafood mislabeling rates in restaurants in Los Angeles or elsewhere in North America, Europe, and Asia (Warner et al 2013;Nagalakshmi et al 2016;Christiansen et al 2018).…”