A recent study shows that almost 40 percent of all hake consumed in Spain is mislabelled. DNA studies of the contents in packets sold in supermarkets showed that the information on the label was wrong or misleading.
Analysis of 18 different brands sold at shops in Spain showed that 38.9 percent did not contain what was claimed on the label of the packet. Most of the errors were related to the scientific name or the geographical origin of the contents.
In particular, it showed that African hake – which fetches a lower price than European or American hake – was regularly mislabeled as originating from either the EU or the US.
According to the EFE news agency, Professor Eva Garcia Vazquez, co-author of the study, said that “the fraud only benefits those selling the product or intermediaries, but not fishermen or producers in Africa”, whose low wages are likely to be the main reason for the price difference. In 2010, 1 kg of South American hake fetched €11.72, while 1 kg South African hake cost only €6.79.
The study was carried out by researchers at the University of Oviedo in 2010 and was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
A study made in Great Britain recently showed that claims such as ‘sustainably sourced’; ‘protects the marine environment’; and ‘responsibly farmed’ were misleading or unverified on 32 products out of 100 examined in the UK. 22 of those claims were directly misleading, while in a further 10 cases there was no evidence presented to prove otherwise, the report from ClientEarth, an organisation of lawyers specialising in environmental law, said.