Sushi barcoding in the UK: another kettle of fish

Although the spread of sushi restaurants in the European Union and United States is a relatively new phenomenon, they have rapidly become among the most popular food services globally. Recent studies indicate that they can be associated with very high levels (>70%) of fish species substitution. B...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 4; p. e1891
Main Authors:	Vandamme, Sara G, Griffiths, Andrew M, Taylor, Sasha-Ann, Di Muri, Cristina, Hankard, Elizabeth A, Towne, Jessica A, Watson, Mhairi, Mariani, Stefano
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States PeerJ. Ltd 31-03-2016 PeerJ, Inc PeerJ Inc
Subjects:	Aquaculture Aquaculture, Fisheries and Fish Science Bar codes Biodiversity COI barcoding Commercial fishing Conservation Biology Consumer preferences Consumers Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA Ecology Endangered & extinct species Endangered species Fish Fisheries management Fishing Food services Fraud Genetics Hippoglossus hippoglossus Hippoglossus stenolepis Human error International economic relations Labeling Life sciences Molecular Biology Officials and employees Restaurants Seafood Species substitution Studies Sushi restaurants Thunnus Traceability United Kingdom > UK Traceability Sushi restaurants Species substitution UK Mislabelling Fish COI barcoding
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Summary:	Although the spread of sushi restaurants in the European Union and United States is a relatively new phenomenon, they have rapidly become among the most popular food services globally. Recent studies indicate that they can be associated with very high levels (>70%) of fish species substitution. Based on indications that the European seafood retail sector may currently be under better control than its North American counterpart, here we investigated levels of seafood labelling accuracy in sushi bars and restaurants across England. We used the COI barcoding gene to screen samples of tuna, eel, and a variety of other products characterised by less visually distinctive 'white flesh'. Moderate levels of substitution were found (10%), significantly lower than observed in North America, which lends support to the argument that public awareness, policy and governance of seafood labels is more effective in the European Union. Nevertheless, the results highlight that current labelling practice in UK restaurants lags behind the level of detail implemented in the retail sector, which hinders consumer choice, with potentially damaging economic, health and environmental consequences. Specifically, critically endangered species of tuna and eel continue to be sold without adequate information to consumers.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2167-8359 2167-8359
DOI:	10.7717/peerj.1891