Page 26 - Food&Drink Magazine August 2019

MEAT, FISH & POULTRY
Tracing fish
Gabriel told Food & Drink Business, “To our knowledge, no formal studies have been done so we don’t know the extent of the situation here. Substitution and fraud undermine the industry’s reputation and could have a negative impact on consumers’ health if mislabelled products cause a reaction.”
Gabriel draws the distinction between willful actions, and unintentional, accidental substitution or mislabelling.
The fish name standard was established in 2007 to promote consistency across more than 4000 species but many species are still known by different names.
It does raise issues surrounding supply chain integrity, Gabriel says. “It could be poor systems, a lack of knowledge on the need for a traceable supply chain or to meet gaps in supply. The implications are wide ranging.”
Mislabelling can incentivise illegal, unreported and unregulatedfishing,shesays,
and is estimated to cost the global fishing industry up to $33.8 billion a year. It poses a significant risk to marine ecosystems, and can result in high levels of bycatch and abandoned ‘ghost nets’ damaging marine habitats. It also means trade of vulnerable or endangered species can go undetected.
Gabriel will be speaking at this month’s Asia Pacific Food Safety Conference on the MSC’s efforts to improve traceability. The council’s third-party chain of custody program allows verified organisations to use MSC’s blue fish tick label. The program is designed as a deterrent for systematic and deliberate species substitution and fraud.
“To be certain that a seafood product label is correct, we need to improve traceability back to the source – and through all stages of food production, processing and distribution.”
Then the oceans will be teemingwithlife,Gabrielsays. ✷
Global figures for mislabelling or fraudulent seafood products are large. Kim Berry talks to Anne Gabriel from the Marine Stewardship Council on its program to limit the issue in Australia.
IT is estimated that globally, 30 per cent of seafood products are mislabelled or fraudulent, with calls for greater research into the issue in Australia. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Oceania program director, Anne Gabriel says little is known on what size of a problemitisforAustralia.
26 | Food&Drink business | August 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
Phone: (61 @) 9939 4900 Email: ssyme@symetec.com