There’s something er, fishy about the shrimp you’re eating — or at least something pretty troubling. Advocacy group Oceana tested the DNA of shrimp sold around the country and found that about a third of the 143 shrimp products are not what the packaging claims it to be. The AP reports that farm-raised shrimp “is being sold as prized wild-caught Gulf shrimp,” common shrimp touted as premium, and, in general, shrimp is sold with “no indication whatsoever about where they came from.”
From the AP:
Misleading and illegal labeling of food is considered a major problem among food purists because it cheats consumers and puts them at risk of tainted foods, hurts honest vendors and tarnishes an industry’s product. The report said that because of mislabeling, consumers are not guaranteed they are eating shrimp that meets high, chemical-free standards.
Oceana said it found bad labeling on shrimp sold at national and regional supermarkets and smaller grocery stores alike. It also said restaurants of all kinds, from national chains to high-dollar eateries, were selling shrimp with poor labeling.
Oceana is putting pressure on Congress to tighten regulations on labeling. In the meantime, if you want to be 100% certain of your origins of your protein, there’s always lab-grown meat.
(Photo: pinguino k)
