Fish fraud is rampant -- and Subway's tuna scandal is just the tip of the iceberg

[marmar]

(Salon) Subway's tuna sandwiches may not be their most famous product, but some (including this author) would argue they are one of their tastiest. Needless to say, it was alarming to read a report that a New York Times investigation into the sandwich's tuna found "no amplifiable tuna DNA," suggesting that the so-called tuna sandwich was not, in fact, tuna fish. Subway later questioned the reliability of the DNA tests, claiming in a statement that it "is simply not a reliable way to identify denatured proteins like Subway's tuna, which was cooked before it was tested."

The viral "fake tuna" debacle has undoubtedly hurt Subway's brand, and heightened a popular perception of corporations as shifty and untrustworthy. Yet regardless of the mystery meat's provenance, the saga highlights a larger industrial supply chain problem — namely, that fish fraud, as it is known, is prevalent. That means that if indeed some of Subway's tuna is "fake," it may not entirely be their fault.

....(snip)....

Tuna isn't the only fish that has fraud problems. Oceana, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ocean conservation group, began to investigate seafood fraud in 2011 and has since uncovered troubling patterns. In 2016 the group released a report about the worldwide scope of seafood fraud that detailed a pervasive, stomach-churning cheat of unsuspecting consumers. On average, one out of five of the more than 25,000 samples of seafood that they tested from 55 countries were mislabeled, with the trend occurring at every stage of the supply chain.

In the United States, studies released since 2014 found the average fraud rate (weighted by sample size) to be 28 percent. Worldwide, Asian catfish, hake and escolar were the fish most commonly substituted; more than half of the replacement fish (58 percent) were from species that could get certain consumers sick. In Italy, 82 percent of the 200 swordfish, grouper and perch samples tested were revealed to have been mislabeled; nearly half of the substituted fish have been labeled "threatened with extinction" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). .............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/07/26/fish-fraud-is-rampant-and-subways-tuna-scandal-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/

[marble falls]

1. It's a scandal. It's been that way for years.

[milestogo]

2. They use whatever is cheapest.

Big surprise.

[exboyfil]

3. I remember in 1985 eating a bunch of Long John Silver's

fried scallops. They eventually went off the menu. I wonder if they were faux scallops (punch out of sting rays for example). Even then it seems scallops were too expensive to be offered at that price.

I did like them. I thought I got value even if they weren't real scallops.

[susanr516]

19. That's an old Gulf Coast secret

Manta rays taste a lot like scallops.

[left-of-center2012]

4. "some (including this author) would argue they are one of their tastiest"

The tuna and meatball are my two favorites.
Nothing I have read will stop me from ordering them.

Well, maybe '... ?

[GulfCoast66]

5. It rampant here in Florida. Had a grouper sandwich in Florida? Chances are you did not.

Or at least not fresh Florida grouper.

I don’t love grouper but it is real good. My wife loves it. We have a restaurant in Crystal River Florida we go to that has actually told us they have no grouper because they only serve Florida grouper and none is available. They actually know the boat owners. A restaurant that will do that is honest.

Most grouper you get here are either tile fish or imported grouper from Asia.

We fish in the gulf so most of the fish we eat I know exactly where it is from. We eat it 2-3 times a week. But sometimes it nice to go to a good seafood joint and get a meal. Especially when staying on the coast on a fishing weekend.

[Ziggysmom]

7. Aren't Florida Grouper illegal to catch for many years now?

[GulfCoast66]

8. Certainly not.

They are pretty tightly managed and of course the commercial fisherman get more than they should compared to recreational. Of course I’m highly biased! Recreational anglers create way more economical benefit. I’d be scared to figure what I spend for the wife and I to catch 4 grouper. Gas at 9 mpg pulling the boat over for the day. Or a couple of $120 hotel nights. Meals eaten at at mom and pops places, $20 trolling plugs you lose regularly. 80 gallon gas tank on the boat with $4 dollar a gallon non-ethanol fuel. And it goes on.
When I was a kid in Louisiana dad had a 16 foot bateau with a 20 horse kicker. And there were no limits on what we could keep. Fishing saved money then. We’d catch sea trout and redfish to the point the cooler was full and we were throwing them on the deck. We ate fish 4 nights a week. I’m surprised I never grew tired of it. But it’s still my favorite food. Those days are long gone.

Anyway, the grouper population is in better shape than 20 years ago. It’s pretty easy to catch your 2 fish per person limit.

On edit. You are thinking of Goliath grouper. The largest of the family. They are fully protected. Because a 500lb fish of great tasting meat is soon wiped out by commercial guys.

[Ziggysmom]

11. Aah yes I was referring to the Giant Groupers. Forgive a Midwestern fisherman's mistake 😉

The Musky is the king fish up here and we do catch and release mostly.

[GulfCoast66]

13. Totally understandable.

Gag grouper is the fish most recreational folks go after. Here in central Florida we can catch them in 20-30 feet of water not 20 miles from shore. Which in a boat that runs 45mph is really close.

[a kennedy]

6. Well that's just great. Ugh.... 🤬 🤬 🤬

[Submariner]

9. All the planets oceans are over fished

They even have a TV show called "Wicked Tuna", where we can watch a bunch of greedy fishermen catching the last of the breeding stocks of Bluefin Tuna in the race to commercial, if not total, extinction. With 8 billion mouths to feed, tuna will probably be off the menu in a decade or two, except for the very rich.

[Duppers]

22. Sadly true. nt

[XanaDUer2]

10. Sounds fishy nt

[Buns_of_Fire]

12. Yeah, and I'm looking at YOU, "Chicken of the Sea"!

No wonder everything "tastes like chicken" -- everything IS chicken! Or something else that I'd just as soon not know.

[DFW]

14. This is prevalent in both meat and fish sales, worldwide

For that reason, we only cook what we have seen raw, and we seldom eat out.

In Germany, many of the Turkish Kebap places had their meat tested (supposed to be a mixture of mutton and veal), and whaddya know? A huge percentage of then turned out to be serving pork in their mixture. Now to Muslims, that is supposed to be taboo, but hey if pork is cheaper than veal, then pork it is! Euro U Akbar!

[GulfCoast66]

20. Same here. Of course since I catch my own fish I'm confident with it?

But when buying meat I’m very picky. I studied meat science early in university before changing my major so can tell cuts and quality.

Most meat eaten out is at authentic Mexican joints. Hard to fake tongue and cow head tacos! Or pork belly and jowls!

I haven’t eaten a restaurant hamburger in months. I have a meat grinder and on the rare occasion we have one I know exactly what cut it is from. I alway love how at butcher shops in France they grind the meat when I order it. I know the grocery stores don’t. It’s why I like the butcher shops.

It’s surprising, we have made no conscious effort to eat less red meat. But it seems like we don’t eat it once a week. Just not what we feel like.

We eat fish and seafood probably 4 times a week. Don’t really know what drove that. Just happened. Made Ceviche tonight.

BTW, I’ve lost 35 lbs since Covid hit! Not on a diet. Just not eating out at all.

[DenaliDemocrat]

15. It's tuna, just pressure cooked so the proteins

Are all denatured making PCR unreliable

[TreasonousBastard]

16. I remember one day at the Fulton Fish Market where some guy had a swordfish head...

next to a decapitated shark.

[smirkymonkey]

17. Ugh! Tuna salad is one of the most disgusting things I can think of.

Whenever I go to a deli, I can't even stand the sight of it. I honestly feel like throwing up if I even see it.

[GulfCoast66]

21. Really. With yellowfin tuna in olive oil I love it.

Can’t have a proper salad Nicoise without it.

[smirkymonkey]

27. I love raw fresh tuna or grilled tuna steaks, it's just the canned stuff with

mayonnaise that delis serve that makes me sick because it's so disgusting looking.

[GulfCoast66]

28. See my earlier post. Mayo ruins good olive oil canned tuna.

Although I love Mayo. A whole lot. The French in me. I put copious amounts on most sandwiches. But not with really good canned canned tuna.

[smirkymonkey]

30. I like mayo or aioli on some things, but I think it is the amount and how much it is handled

that just bums me out. The same with chicken salad. It's all just so worked over and it just looks so disgusting whenever you see it at a deli counter or most restaurants. It just looks like mush.

I make my own chicken salad w/ roast chicken on the bone and I only use lean white meat, no gristle, and add chopped green salad olives/pimentos, capers and red onion and just enough mayo to hold it together. A tiny bit of red wine vinegar and a spot of dijon mustard. It's not to everyone's liking, but I started to cook because I wanted to make things that appealed to my own tastes.

Also, because I know that I will use quality ingredients and I don't trust most other places to use the best ingredients and leave other fillers out.

[GulfCoast66]

32. Right there with you. I cook almost every night.

I enjoy good food and love the knowledge that I turned a bunch of ingredients into a meal.

You chicken salad sounds good to me. Except I’d use dark meat!

[Duppers]

23. Don't like tuna or the salad stuff?

[smirkymonkey]

24. Just the tuna salad stuff mixed w/ mayonnaise, mostly because it just looks

like slop by the time they are done with it.

I love Tuna steaks, it's just the canned stuff w/ mayo that i can't deal with.

[Duppers]

25. I like it ok...when I make my own.

Hubs was in grad school 9yrs, so I learned to make ends meet.

[GulfCoast66]

26. Spend the money to get high quality olive oil packed yellow fin tuna.

And not the crappy Albacore stuff. Fisherman regard it as almost inedible. It’s really not horrible fresh. But the worst of the family.

Serve it over a salad of your choice with a simple vinaigrette dressing and it is great.

I agree crappy tuna mixed with Mayo and relish is disgusting.

But don’t give up on canned tuna. You’ll have to spend 3-5 dollars a can. But it is really good.

The most famous and best salad from the south of France is based on it. Salad Nicoise is fantastic.

[smirkymonkey]

29. I love Salade Nicoise.

It's one of my favorites, but I like it with fresh tuna and no eggs and no anchovies.

There is a lot of debate among chefs as to what goes into a proper Salade Nicoise, but I have always been a big fan of improvising to taste, within reason. My favorite version is romaine lettuce, organic vine-ripened or heirloom tomatoes, persian cucumbers, blanched green beans, boiled small new potatoes, rare grilled tuna, nicoise olives and drizzled with a lemon-dijon vinaigrette. Also, maybe some capers.

That is not an authentic version, but it is my favorite. A nice crusty baguette on the side makes it perfect!

[GulfCoast66]

33. Now I know what supper is tonight!

My wife does not do anchovies but I love good ones. The ones in jars.

I do a mustard vinaigrette and canned tuna. I like rare tuna but not on a salad. Actually I make sushi once a week or so. Much more affordable at home.

[milestogo]

18. When Arby's first became a fast food restaurant their roast beef was delicious.

It was the real deal. But within a year they changed it, and you had to add a lot of salt or sauce to make it edible. Its all bait and switch.

[ZonkerHarris]

31. An old friend is a forensic scientist for the Fed's National Fish & Wildfire lab in OR...

told me a story some years back about how after USSR fell and the oligarchs and Russian mob took over Russia they took over the caviar business and found out two cents worth of paddlefish eggs could fool the most refined caviar experts paying $50 a jar or more for it.
By the late 90s everyone in America was just eating paddlefish eggs instead of sturgeon.
His lab's DNA experts figured out a way to test the stuff at the border inspections and now they confiscate about $300 million worth of fake caviar every year from Russia.
He's not going to Russia anytime soon.

[GulfCoast66]

34. I spent my adolescence in Arkansas.

There is a subculture that fishes for paddlefish. They just throw all those eggs out. Where a little salt and a sieve could make world class food. I’ve had paddlefish caviar. As you said it’s as good as the real deal.