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Reports Indicate Up to 20% of Seafood Mislabeled


WEBWIRE

EMSL Analytical provides food authenticity testing to confirm food products are what they claim to be.

Cinnaminson, NJ, January 3rd, 2012

In 2011, Consumer Reports published several stories about the common practice of seafood species substitutions. This occurs when less desirable types of seafood are mislabeled and sold to consumers.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also taking steps to stop this practice according to a recent report from the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). Recently the FDA informed representatives of the seafood trade association that the agency would begin testing 100 samples of seafood utilizing DNA testing methodologies.

According to one recent Consumer Reports article on the topic of mislabeled seafood, “Americans spent $80.2 billion on seafood last year, $5 billion more than in 2009, but they aren’t always buying what they think they are. More than one-fifth of 190 pieces of seafood we bought at retail stores and restaurants in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut were mislabeled as different species of fish, incompletely labeled, or misidentified by employees.”

In addition to consumer’s being cheated by mislabeled seafood products, fraudulent adulteration and labeling of food products may be dangerous. For health reasons, the consumption of products containing undeclared or mislabeled ingredients may cause problems including potentially deadly allergic reactions in sensitized individuals.

Helping to identify when food products, including seafood, have been mislabeled is EMSL Analytical, Inc. EMSL is a leading food and consumer products testing laboratory that provides food authenticity testing services to the general public and the food industry.

“Authenticity testing of food products, including meat, milk and fish, is important for labeling and the assessment of value. It is necessary to ensure consumer protection against fraudulent practices that have been observed in recent years,” stated Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at EMSL Analytical. “Food manufacturers, processors, wholesalers and retailers need to be sure that they are providing the food products they are supposed to be and not delivering a fraudulent, and even potentially dangerous, substitute.”

To learn more about DNA testing of food products, please visit www.FoodTestingLab.com or www.EMSL.com, call (800)220-3675 or email info@EMSL.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of environmental and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.



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