Canadian shoppers may be shocked to find that they aren’t getting what they paid for at their local grocery stores.

In fact, a recent study conducted by Oceana Canada found that 44% of 382 seafood samples tested from five Canadian cities don’t meet the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s labelling requirements.

What’s more, 75% of the cases found cheap fish mislabelled as something more expensive. For example, cheaper haddock and pollock substituted for cod, while farmed salmon is served up as wild salmon. Similarly, escolar (a fish banned in many countries because of its health risks) masquerades as butterfish or white tuna.

This national investigation into seafood fraud us the most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted in Canada. It points to food safety issues for Canadians, as well as the health of our oceans. In addition, it cheats consumers as well as honest fishers and vendors.

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Fish Mislabelled In National Investigation

“What makes mislabelling on this scale possible? The global seafood supply chain is obscure and increasingly complex. Once a fish has been caught, it can travel halfway around the world for processing, passing across many national borders before it ends up on your plate,” reads the report.

“In order to stop seafood fraud and ensure that seafood sold in Canada is safe, honestly labelled and legally caught, CFIA must implement boat-to-plate traceability requirements to protect consumers, conserve our oceans and give honest fishers and vendors the fair treatment they deserve.”

Restaurants have a huge issue with mislabelling, with more than half of the samples tested showing as something different. Shockingly, nothing labelled as red snapper, yellowtail or butterfish were actually those species.

In Vancouver, 22 of the 84 samples tested (26 per cent) were mislabelled. In other words, one in every four instances.