Your favorite sushi spot might not be serving exactly what you think. New findings show that sushi restaurants are more likely to mislabel wild salmon than grocery stores.
Many sushi restaurants boast premium “wild-caught” salmon on their menus, but researchers have found that some of this salmon hails from farms.
A DNA analysis of 119 salmon samples from grocery stores and sushi restaurants in Seattle, Washington, revealed that 18 percent were mislabeled.
The state of Washington is one of the top wild salmon suppliers in the United States. There are five native species of Pacific salmon in Washington State: Chinook, chum, coho, sockeye, and pink. In addition, there are two other species within the same genus: coastal cutthroat and steelhead trout.
Almost all farmed salmon are Atlantic salmon. Commercial fishing of wild Atlantic salmon is prohibited in the U.S. because only one endangered population currently exists in the Gulf of Maine. The price of salmon hinges on the species and whether it was farmed or wild-caught.
In 2013, Washington made it illegal to mislabel salmon because it had negative effects on customers, fishers, vendors, distributors, and ecosystems.
Researchers from Seattle Pacific University gathered and analyzed samples from 67 grocery stores and 52 sushi restaurants across Seattle. The analysis showed that 18 percent of all fish were mislabeled.
In restaurant samples, 32.3 percent involved mislabeling farmed salmon as wild, while no such mislabeling was found in grocery stores. Additionally, 38.7 percent of restaurant samples mislabeled one wild-caught species for another, compared to 11.1 percent of grocery samples.
When sushi restaurants mislabeled salmon, customers ended up paying more. In contrast, mislabeling in grocery stores did not result in a significant financial impact.
djoronimo – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person – pictured above a woman eats sushi in a restaurant
It is unknown where in the supply chain the mislabeling tends to take place, but it most likely does not happen during the point of harvest.
A previous study found a 20 percent rate of mislabeling in Washington between 2009 and 2011. In 2012, a two percent rate was observed in Seattle, shortly after a major distributor in the area was sentenced to jail for intentionally mislabeling salmon.
In the new study, most of the salmon samples were collected when salmon were in season, so the researchers were shocked by the high rate of mislabeling.
After seeing the results of the findings, the researchers noted that more legal action needs to be taken against salmon fraud.
“Despite recent legislation that makes mislabeling of salmon illegal, salmon mislabeling fraud is still a problem in Seattle. We found Seattle sushi restaurants are far more likely to give you farmed salmon in place of vendor-claimed wild salmon,” said Tracie Delgado, the lead author of the study.
Improper labeling of salmon is a major issue because it prevents accurate tracking of supply chains and makes it harder for conservation efforts to protect wild salmon populations.
“It’s important to continue to develop and enforce legislation that requires accurate seafood labeling, from fisher to plate, and educate the public on how commercial salmon fraud impacts wild salmon conservation.”
The study was published in the journal PLOS One.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.