Most of the mislabelling was found in species such as grouper, butter fish, dogfish, sole, hake and bluefin tuna. (Photo: AZTI)

Half of Spanish restaurants serve fish other than those offered

SPAIN
Saturday, February 17, 2018, 02:20 (GMT + 9)

One out of every two of 204 restaurants analyzed in Spain serves fish dishes that do not correspond to what is indicated in the menu, according to the study led by the AZTI technological center.

Most of the mislabelling, according to this research that is part of the European project FOODINTEGRITY, has been detected in species such as grouper, butterfish, dogfish, sole, hake and bluefin tuna.

To carry out the study, the largest of these characteristics carried out to date in Spain, took more than 300 samples from 204 restaurants spread across the 15 major autonomous regions of Spain.

In the framework of the FOODINTEGRITY European research project, fish dishes that do not correspond to what was indicated in the menu were evaluated, and the fish species most frequently substituted were identified. The final objective of this initiative is to implement control systems from the sector itself and from the administration to protect the sector from these practices and increase the confidence of the final consumer.

"The samples were analyzed in the laboratory through a validated DNA methodology to check if the fish served in the establishments coincided with the description of the labeling," explains Miguel Ángel Pardo, AZTI researcher and expert in quality, safety and food identity .

At the level of the European Union, the study found that one out of every three restaurants analyzed serve fish that does not correspond to what is indicated on the menu.

At the initiative of the Department of Economic Development and Competitiveness, Directorate of Quality and Food Industries, and in order to improve the traceability of fishery foods, AZTI conducted a stratified random sampling in restaurants classified as "high level" (menu of more than EUR 50) in the three provinces of the Basque Country. The result yields significantly better results than the Spanish and European average: thus, only 3 percent of the samples obtained (4 samples out of a total of 145) did not correspond to what was indicated by the restaurant in its menu. On its part, the Basque Government has expressed interest in expanding the analysis in lower-level restaurants in a short period of time.

In the FOODINTEGRITY program, 60 partners from 18 countries in Europe and one participant from China and Argentina participate. This project has funding from the EU and the Basque Government.

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