Third of Shrimp Products Mislabeled, Says Oceana Study
A study released Thursday shows that nearly a third of shrimp products are being misrepresented.
The government is taking steps to make seafood safer for consumers. Meanwhile, some bags of salad-sized shrimp are being labeled as aquarium pets.
Other issues with the food industry include farmed species being labeled as "wild."
The study, released by, Oceana, an international environmental advocacy group, proved that DNA tests of 30 percent of the products tested were misrepresented in their labeling. Oceana tested a total of 143 shrimp products from 111 grocery stores and restaurants in New York, Washington, D.C., the Gulf of Mexico and Portland, Oregon, according to CBS News.
The most common error found was labeling farmed white leg shrimp as "wild" shrimp or "Gulf" shrimp. Specifically, in one case, a bag of salad-sized shrimp purchased in the Gulf had a coral shrimp label, an aquarium fish not meant for consumption.
"While shrimp is the most commonly consumed seafood in the U.S., and the most highly traded seafood in the world, its high demand has led to conservation concerns as well as bait and switch on consumers," Beth Lowell, a senior campaign director at Oceana said in a statement.
The most products misrepresented were found in New York. Forty-three percent of the shrimp had the wrong labels there. Less than 5 percent were found in Portland.
Lowell said, "Without tracking where, when and how our seafood is caught or farmed, and ensuring that this basic information follows the product through each step in the supply chain, shrimp will continue to be misrepresented."
In 2012, more than 11 million potential samples of food were imported into the United States. The Food and Drug Administration was able to physically examine just under 2 percent of them.
Just about 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported.
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