33 percent of seafood sold in six DC eateries mislabeled

[Guest Nicole]

Scientists at the George Washington University used a powerful genetic technique to test seafood dinners sold in six District restaurants and found 33 percent had been mislabeled -- although in most cases with species that are either closely related or considered acceptable alternatives for menu listing.

Previous studies in other cities have shown widespread seafood substitution in which consumers are sold a completely different fish or sushi from the one listed. Those studies have indicated that seafood may be mislabeled as often as 26 to 87 percent of the time.

And in egregious cases, an unsuspecting diner is sold an expensive Tuna that is actually a completely different species of fish, often one that is much cheaper or on the endangered species list, says Keith Crandall, PhD, director of the Computational Biology Institute at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) and leader of the new study , which was published in PeerJ.

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