Sushi barcoding in the UK : another kettle of fish

Vandamme, SG; Griffiths, AM; Taylor, SA; Di Muri, C; Hankard, EA; Towne, JA; Watson, M; Mariani, S

Abstract

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.

Citation

Vandamme, S., Griffiths, A., Taylor, S., Di Muri, C., Hankard, E., Towne, J., …Mariani, S. (2016). Sushi barcoding in the UK : another kettle of fish. PeerJ, 4, e1891. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1891

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 14, 2016
• Publication Date: Mar 31, 2016
• Deposit Date: May 20, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: May 20, 2016
• Journal: PeerJ
• Publisher: PeerJ
• Volume: 4
• Pages: e1891
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1891
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1891
• Related Public URLs: https://peerj.com/
• Additional Information: Funders : EU Atlantic Area Programme