Posted on 05/01/2017 11:30:50 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Order red snapper at a restaurant and more often than not you will fall victim to fish fraud — a bait-and-switch tactic that occurs with alarming regularity. And that sashimi at your favorite sushi joint? Unless you’re dining at Masa in New York ($595 tasting menu), that white tuna you love is probably escolar — commonly called “the Ex-Lax fish” for the intestinal distress it causes. (Japan has banned escolar for decades, so serving it as sushi is disingenuous at best).
These are just two examples of sinister seafood scams that come with huge hidden costs. A few years ago the ocean conservation group Oceana tested more than 25,000 seafood samples across the country and found that 1 in 5 were mislabeled. And while such fraud can occur along any part of the supply chain, more and more it’s the restaurants providing the kick to your gut, your wallet and to the oceans.
Late last year the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office fined high-end Morgan Hill restaurant Odeum $120,000 for surreptitiously serving customers tilapia disguised as higher-priced petrale sole.
Misbranding or falsely advertising food violates California health and safety codes — yet it happens quite frequently — right under our noses.
In his book “Real Food Fake Food,” author Larry Olmsted (www.realfoodfakefood.com) outlines a scenario that’s difficult to digest: Food fraud is a $50-billion-a-year industry, and the breadth of the counterfeiting — from olive oil to Kobe beef — would surprise you.
“All of the food fraud I cover in my book is what the FDA terms an ‘economic cheat,’ meaning consumers are ripped off anytime they overpay for something less than they think they are buying or ordering,” Olmsted said. “So pocketbooks are broadly victimized.”
(Excerpt) Read more at montereyherald.com ...
Lol! I knew your comment would get some great replies. Joe Biden first came to mind for me.
In Salem, MA there is a company called Patriot Seafood. They haul in a catch each day of Dogfish during the season...sometimes called Cape Shark because it looks like a small shark.
They have been trying to get restaurants in the area to serve it. It is firm, white and delicious fish. It can't be over-fished because in the Boston Harbor area they are like locusts.
To date they have only gotten it to catch on at a couple of restaurants in the area. Mostly because customers won't eat something called Dogfish. Uneducated customers, I should say.
I call ahead, put in an order of 10 lbs. and they let me know when it will be in and can be picked up. At 2 bucks per pound it's a real bargain. And it is delicious. Great for fish 'n' chips.
Now that you mention it, I think you are right.
Clear eyes.
Dogfish have mildly toxic spines I think in their dorsal fins. Is that easy to remove and does it do anything to the meat if not done properly?
*Fresh* fish does not have any odor to it.
Get a whiff, if you can.:)
Another thing that irritates me about eating out is, no matter how crappy the service was, you can always count on your bill being handled quickly.
Dogfish urinate through their skin. Tasty, no? If you have some, eat it right away. In a couple of days you won’t be able to stand the smell.
Oh, and have you ever eaten surimi? It’s a pasty substitute for crabmeat using various kinds of scrap fish. We have a place that makes it here in my town, where we have plenty of Dungeness crab, some of the finest crab there is. No excuse for eating garbage when the real stuff is available.
Not a huge deal. A 5 gallon bucket with fresh water and 1/4 cup of lime juice for 3 or 4 hours does the trick.
The eyes have to be clear in all fish (not hazy) and the skin has to be shiney to be a fresh fish. You are right.
IF you ever start getting mystery migraines from eating my
share of shellfish, take my word for it - the pain isn’t
worth it. (I developed this “allergy” when I was in my
mid-forties.) - A friend happened to notice I was eating
chocolate candies; then when I remarked I had a horrible
headache, she told me that chocolate caused them in some
people.
I take quite a bit of zinc. It does help with ANGINA pain &
COLDS & FLU. I wouldn’t be surprised if it could help with
migraines. MIGRAINES are awful - not an ordinary headache.
Many fish n' chips are dogfish. I catch one now and then when fluke fishing, but you have to handle them right or they get a slight ammonia odor to them. If you gut them and soak them in ice water right away they are delicious.
Spiny dogfish do, smooth dogfish do not.
Oh, I forgot, a little lemon or lime juice in the water.
And the renaming of fish to promote new interest is something to be aware of also.
Asian ditch raised catfish used to be called Basa in the market. Now it’s called Swai.
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