Three Arcadia Restaurants Caught Mislabeling Seafood

Editor's Note: A previous version of the story reported Restaurant Kiyosuzu had a violation. The restaurant was on the no-violations list.

Three Arcadia establishments secretly substituted premium seafood listed on their menus with cheaper or imitation versions and charged customers the premium price, a Los Angeles County Department of Health study found.

Of the 103 retail food facilities inspected countywide, 74 percent mislabeled seafood on their menus, passing off crawfish as lobster, for example, or farm-raised salmon as wild salmon. 

“One of the more dangerous examples of mislabeling included escolar being sold as 'white tuna'; however, there is no such fish as 'white tuna,' and some individuals may be allergic to escolar,” said Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who represents Arcadia and several other San Gabriel Valley cities.

The four establishments in Arcadia caught mislabeling seafood are: 99 Ranch Market, Mako Sushi and Shrimp Ahoy. Violations ran the gamut from swapping imitation crab for crab or Red Rock Vermillion for Red Snapper to misidentifying a fish's country of origin.

None of the four restaurants could be reached for comment.

See the attached PDF for the complete list of restaurants in violation.

Violations may stem from the restaurants or their suppliers or both. Either way, it hurts customers. 

“Residents need to know what they were paying for—and we are committed to ensuring that suppliers and retailers practice truth in advertising,” Antonovich said.