NYC Shoppers May Have No Idea What Fish They're Eating: Probe

NEW YORK — These fillets don't pass the smell test. Close to half of the seafood sold in New York City is wrongly labeled, meaning many shoppers may have no idea what they're actually eating, state officials found.

More than 42 percent of seafood in city supermarkets was sold as a different type than the package actually contained, according to the findings of a landmark investigation by the state Attorney General's Office.

That's almost twice the staggering statewide rate of 26.92 percent, the AG's roughly yearlong probe found. While a handful of supermarket chains were the worst offenders, suspected mislabeling was found at least once in about two thirds of the brands reviewed, says the AG's report published Friday.

"It’s clear that seafood fraud isn’t just a fluke — it’s rampant across New York," Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a statement. "Supermarkets are the last line of defense before a phony fish ends up as family dinner, and they have a duty to do more."

The widespread problem affected all but one of the categories of seafood that investigators tested, but some were far worse than others — shoppers who buy red snapper, grouper and lemon sole are "more likely to receive an entirely different fish," the report says.

The attorney general's office has sent enforcement letters seeking more information from five chains — Foodtown, Food Bazaar, Stew Leonard's, Western Beef and Uncle Giuseppe’s — where more than half the samples were suspected of mislabeling. The companies could face financial penalties, officials said.

The AG's office bought seafood at 155 stores under 29 brands from late 2017 through 2018 in what it called the first major government probe targeting seafood fraud at retail supermarkets. The samples underwent DNA testing to determine their species.

The substituted fish was generally cheaper or "less desirable" than what shoppers thought they were buying, the probe found. Consumers who bought "wild" fish often got farm-raised varieties, which shoppers pay more to avoid, and some substitutes had higher levels of mercury, according to the report.

For instance, more than 27 percent of wild salmon samples were actually Atlantic salmon or rainbow trout, which isn't even salmon, the report says.

The poor labeling leaves customers vulnerable, as one study showed more than half of seafood buyers rely on retailers' explanations of their purchases, the AG's office says.

It may also run afoul of state and federal laws that that require supermarkets to correctly market their seafood and hold the stores liable for the accuracy of their marketing, according to the AG's report.

Underwood said shoppers should expect better from their supermarkets.

"We’re taking enforcement action, and consumers should be alert and demand that their supermarket put customers first by taking serious steps to ensure quality control at their seafood counters," she said.

(Lead image: Fish sit on ice in The Bronx in 2005. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)