Title
High incidence of mislabeling and a hint of fraud in the ceviche and sushi business
Date Issued
01 November 2021
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
National Zoological Park
Carrera de Biologia Marina
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Peru is a major fishing country and has a high consumption of fish per capita of approximately 25.4 kg/person. The gastronomic boom of the Peruvian seafood business has been increasing steadily, mostly led by seafood restaurants called cevicherias for the prevalence of their main dish “ceviche”. We investigated the incidence of seafood fraud (i.e. mislabeling and substitution) in restaurants, supermarkets, and fish retail markets from September 2017 and October 2018, in Lima, the capital of Peru. We conducted DNA barcode sequencing of 364 samples collected from fresh and frozen fish fillets and ready-to-eat dishes (i.e. ceviche, sushi, and sashimi) and compared the expected species (from sale name) to observed species (from genetic identification). We found incidences of seafood fraud in 43% of samples collected. Restaurants exhibited a significantly higher incidence (61%) compared to supermarkets. Within restaurants, 71% of samples collected in cevicherias and 47% from sushi-bars exhibited mislabeling/substitution. For cevicherias, mislabeling/substitution was inversely associated to the cost of the dish. A small number of species were commonly used as substitutes, including species without fishery management plans. Also found in the samples were threatened species, notably: Anguilla anguilla and Thunnus thynnus. Our results revealed that seafood fraud, whether as mislabeling or as substitution, occurs in Lima and increases along the supply chain, it is influenced by product price, and includes threatened species. But this is a first snapshot. We recommend the implementation of an official and regulated list of commercial fish products and continuous monitoring at points of sale to understand the prevalence of seafood fraud over large periods of time and in other cities with high consumption of seafood products.
Volume
129
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Biotecnología agrícola, Biotecnología alimentaria Alimentos y bebidas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85107055768
Source
Food Control
ISSN of the container
09567135
Sponsor(s)
We thank Universidad Científica del Sur and Prodelphinus staff for the logistic support provided during implementation of the study. We thank the Walton Family Foundation and Oceana-Peru for funding our research.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus