Wrongly labelled fish

Numerous fish sold as “wild” in UK shops had been farmed and some fish products lacked information of origin, inspections have revealed

A snapshot survey by the British Food Standards Agency, carried out in a variety of outlets, showed that approximately one in 10 of samples were wrongly labelled as wild. Of the 128 fish samples tested, 10% of the "wild" sea bass was farmed, rising to 11% of the sea bream and 15% of the salmon.

The other part of the survey uncovered that while the majority of retailers provided consumers with information on the origin of the fish, 15% either gave no or incorrect information.

Dr Mark Woolfe, head of the agency's food authenticity branch, said that although this survey only gave a snapshot of the market at the time, it highlighted areas where retailers can tighten up their procedures.

Sid Patten, chief executive of Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation, said: “As our industry has advocated clear labelling over the course of many years, we would be delighted to work with the Food Standards Agency, retailers and others to emphasise the qualities of farmed fish, thus ensuring a fairer deal for consumers and producers alike.”