Europe investigates fraud in fish labeling

Canned goods have more labeling problem because the whole piece is not seen. LALO R. VILLAR

Cheap fish labeled as if it were a more expensive species. It is the fraud that attempts to tackle the EU-financed Labelfish program, in which Spain participates through the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). After analyzing the DNA of 300 products made with tuna, anchovy or cod marketed in Madrid, Bilbao, Vigo and Santiago de Compostela, the Spanish team has reached a first conclusion: fraud occurs in all species, although in different percentages: 25% in the case of processed frozen or fresh tuna fish (including all those offered in fishmongers without the complete fish being seen); 11.3% in canned tuna; 12.2% in semi-preserved anchovies, and 6.5% in dry salted cod.

"That a product is not of the species that marks the label does not mean that it is of lower quality or bad for health. But it is a deception to the consumer, sometimes involuntary and sometimes deliberate, "explains Carmen González Sotelo, who has coordinated the work from the Institute of Marine Research of the CSIC in Vigo. "In some cases it is clear that they are unpremeditated errors because there is no economic gain. But when you sell a cheap variety as if it were another more expensive, it is logical to think that there is a fraudulent objective, "he says.

Why is tuna the fish with the highest bad tagging rates? "It has to do with the extension of Japanese cuisine, which especially values ​​bluefin tuna. This is the most valuable species on the market, but it is not easy to distinguish it from others when sold in portions or in sushi preparations. It is what explains the high percentage in the elaborated of tuna ", details the researcher of the CSIC.

TEN FOODS UNDER SUSPICION

Fish is second on the list of the 10 food items with the highest risk of fraud in a report presented by the European Parliament last October following the scandal of horse meat sold as veal in about twenty European countries. Olive oil comes first in the classification, and behind the fish are organic products, milk, cereals, honey, coffee or tea, spices, wine and fruit juices.

The risk of fraud, according to the report, is greater the longer the chain of production and distribution (ie, the more intermediaries there are, the more possibility of deception) and also the greater the potential benefits that can be generated by the exchange of species , so experts stress the importance of identifying the type of food that can make the most of profits.

The report includes some proposals to combat the problem, such as the need to clearly establish what constitutes food fraud, a definition that is now not harmonized on Community territory and therefore may be different in each Member State.

In the case of fish, incorrect labeling is concerned not only because it is a consumer fraud. "It is also a problem that can affect marine sustainability, because it runs the risk of overexploiting certain species that come disguised with another denomination," warns Eva García Vázquez, a researcher at the University of Oviedo and director of the study published in 2011 on the hake. "It can even cause allergies by giving false information about the species," he adds.

The results of the Spanish work will be contrasted with those of the other countries participating in the project (France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom and Germany) when they are published. At the moment, there are only preliminary figures in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which calculate error rates between 2% and 18%.

The purpose of the Labelfish project is to establish a standardized system for the authentication of marine species throughout the EU to improve the effectiveness of controls and combat fraud in an area where the alarm has been raised several times in recent years. In 2011 a study by the University of Dublin found that 28% of cod products marketed in Ireland and the United Kingdom corresponded to species that were cheaper than those marking their labels. Also in 2011, a team from the universities of Oviedo in Spain and Aristotle in Greece showed that almost 40%of the hake sold in these two countries had the tricky origin: it was offered as American or European when in fact it was African (of lesser value). Another paper published last year, commissioned by the Oceana Marine Conservation Organization, showed that 33% of US fish labeling was misleading.

The industry ensures that there is no fraud. Juan Manuel Vieites, general secretary of the Anfaco canneries, states that "the only species control and traceability laboratory certified by ENAC [the national accreditation body] is that of Anfaco, and we have not detected any irregularities." "The CSIC study is not validated by any certification authority," he adds. Luisa Álvarez, deputy director of Fedepesca (Federation of Retailers of Fish and Frozen), emphasizes that "the product that reaches stores and markets is already acquired in the markets with certificate of traceability", so if there is a hole, this must be produced in an anterior chain link.

The problem is that it is not easy to find out where the crack is, as shown last year by the scandal of horse meat sold as if it were beef, which affected some twenty European countries, including Spain. The case triggered concerns about food fraud in the EU and sparked debate over the need to increase controls that have not yet been resolved.

Socialist MEP Antolín Sánchez Presedo used the alarm to draw attention, through a question to the European Commission, about the high percentage of irregularities detected in fish. The answer was that research is being supported to improve the effectiveness of controls [with programs such as Labelfish, for example]. "It's not a problem of legislation, we have enough rules. It is a problem of control because the EU does not have an administrative apparatus to execute those controls, they have to do the Member States. And each one does it more or less effectively, "says Sánchez Presedo. "But it can be improved by establishing a systemized protocol common to all countries. This can not be fixed by improvising, it is necessary to elaborate a strategic plan ", it opines.