LONDON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Would you have thought that your daily order of fish and chips could contain some endangered species? A British study has revealed alarming loopholes in the labeling rules as to which type of fish is exactly consumed in certain dishes.
Research from the University of Exeter in southwest England analyzed the DNA of more than 100 samples from takeout restaurants and fishmongers mainly in southern England. Their research showed that restaurants had been selling a type of shark called dogfish or spurdog under non-specific "umbrella" labels, such as rock salmon, rock, huss or flake.
These terms make the fish sound more palatable and consumers would not suspect them to have anything to do with "threatened species," according to the study published in the journal Scientific Reports, an online multidisciplinary, open access journal from the publishers of Nature.
The use of spiny dogfish in dishes has remained controversial as the species is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, whereas selling it for food in Britain is not necessarily illegal, with catches continuously imported from North America.
With the lines between the species become blurred, consumers have no idea that consuming their fillet of battered cod or haddock lying atop thick-cut fries could be violating animal protection laws.
Moreover, the study has found that such labeling also renders allergens, mercury levels and conservation status difficult to identify, calling for tighter regulations and stricter food labeling standards.
