Santa Monica Seafood has been participating in a balanced conversation about seafood fraud over the last several years, and we recently worked to stop the State of California from implementing new seafood labeling laws – not because we don’t think seafood fraud is a serious problem, but because we think it’s a problem best handled by implementing laws that already exist.
However, its possible that all the negative press about the issue of seafood fraud has potentially made you nervous about eating seafood. We want to assure you that we take a zero tolerance approach to seafood fraud. We label each one of our products with it’s proper name (and country of origin) and if you need more info, all you have to do is ask. We’re happy to provide scientific names, harvest methods, or other information that you might be interested in.
However, the FDA wants you to know that they have also been doing their own random DNA testing in response to the public’s concerns. Recent sampling and testing conducted as part of this project found that the fish species was correctly labeled 85% of the time.
According to the National Fisheries Institute’s John Connelly
“Eighty-five percent of seafood was labeled correctly and the mislabeling was focused on two species,” said Connelly. “Our job is to work with companies and focus on those problem areas.” He continued, “This type of information gives regulators important insights and helps them focus their resources. New laws don’t do that.”
The FDA will use the results from this testing to help guide future sampling, enforcement, and education efforts designed to ensure that seafood offered for sale in the U.S. market is labeled with an acceptable market name for the species.
“What the FDA found reinforces the need for implementation of rules already on the books,” said Lisa Weddig, Secretary of the Better Seafood Board (BSB.) “We don’t need more regulations and rhetoric, we need more enforcement.”
Santa Monica Seafood supports the FDA’s efforts to implement existing regulations. Please don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any questions on how we combat seafood fraud.