Fish mislabelling in France: substitution rates and retail types

Abstract

Market policies have profound implications for consumers as well as for the management of resources. One of the major concerns in fish trading is species mislabelling: the commercial name used does not correspond to the product, most often because the product is in fact a cheaper or a more easily available species. Substitution rates depend heavily on species, some often being sold mislabelled while others rarely or never mislabelled. Rates also vary largely depending on countries. In this study, we analyse the first market-wide dataset collected for France, the largest sea food market in Europe, for fish species substitution. We sequenced and analysed 371 samples bearing 55 commercial species names, collected in fishmonger shops, supermarkets and restaurants; the largest dataset assembled to date in an European country. Sampling included fish fillets, both fresh and frozen, and prepared meals. We found a total of 14 cases of mislabelling in five species: bluefin tuna, cod, yellowfin tuna, sole and seabream, setting the overall substitution rate at 3.7% CI [2.2–6.4], one of the lowest observed for comparable surveys with large sampling. We detected no case of species mislabelling among the frozen fillets or in industrially prepared meals, and all the substitutions were observed in products sold in fishmongers shops or restaurants. The rate of mislabelling does not differ between species, except for bluefin tuna. Despite a very small sample size (n = 6), the rate observed for this species (83.3% CI [36–99]) stands in sharp contrast with the low substitution rate observed for the other substituted species. In agreement with studies from other countries, this work shows that fish mislabelling can vary greatly within a country depending on the species. It further suggests that more efforts should be directed to the control of high value species like bluefin tuna.

Substitution of high-priced fish with low-priced species: Adulteration of common sole in German restaurants

“…Interestingly, the high substitution rate of sole in restaurants is contrary to the results of a recent French mislabelling study (B enard-Capelle et al, 2015). In France no substitution of sole in restaurants was found, however, it has to be emphasized that the sample number was very low (n ¼ 5).…”

“…B enard-Capelle et al, 2015;Carvalho, Palhares, Drummond, & Frigo, 2015;Cutarelli et al, 2014;Espiñeira, Gonz alez-Lavín, Vieites, & Santaclara, 2008;Griffiths et al, 2013;Herrero, Lago, Vieites, & Espiñeira, 2012;Pappalardo & Ferrito, 2015;Stamatis et al, 2015;Warner, Timme, Lowell, & Hirshfield, 2013). However, most of these studies deal with products from supermarkets and other retail forms whereas fish and seafood is rarely sampled directly from restaurants.…”

DNA barcode identification of commercial fish sold in Mexican markets

“…These results allowed us to make highly reliable species assignments (Hanner et al 2011;Costa et al 2012;Bénard-Capelle et al 2015b) For most species, the designated BIN was associated with a single specific name.…”

Tuna Species Substitution in the Spanish Commercial Chain: A Knock-On Effect

“…This raises the possibility of intentional substitution in the commercial tuna market: substitution of bluefin with other tuna which are less valuable and also more abundant on the market. Tuna species substitution is commonly observed [ 29 , 30 ] but not limited by mislabelling within species: DNA barcoding revealed that “white tuna” sushi ( Thunnus alalunga ) were found to be “tilapia” ( Oreochromis mossambicus ) [ 17 ]. Tuna mislabelling in international trade might have different sources, and among them we have to consider the role of China, the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of seafood [ 31 ].…”