Supermarkets misleading consumers on fish labelling

The organisation inspected the labelling by major supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, The Co-operative, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose.

In their subsequent report, they say that labels, such as ‘sustainably sourced’; ‘protects the marine environment’; and ‘responsibly farmed’ were misleading or unverified on 32 products out of 100 examined.

‘Dolphin friendly’ labels featured on tinned tuna they say can be misleading as there is no mention of the harmful effects the tuna fishing method used may have on other threatened species such as turtles and sharks.

ClientEarth CEO, James Thornton, said: “It would be shocking to find out that the free-range chicken you bought was actually battery farmed.

“Discovering the fish you’re eating, which is labelled as responsible or environmentally friendly, actually led to the deaths of threatened species also leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

“Consumers need to be able to trust labels but in reality claims such as ‘sustainably sourced’ or ‘responsibly farmed’ are often misleading.

“We would like all supermarkets that have the misleading claims on the products we’ve identified to remove them as soon as possible or to prove them with evidence.”

The organisation is calling for EU regulation for fish labelling and for uniform standards on sustainability claims.

They say that while many supermarkets are taking measures to ensure that their fish is well caught, and farmed, they apply different criteria in their decision-making, which makes choosing truly sustainable fish products difficult for consumers.

This report adds to the topicality of sustainable fishing, highlighted this week in the TV series Fish Fight on Channel 4, fronted by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

ClientEarth, the Marine Conservation Society and Greenpeace are among the organisations backing the chef’s campaign. The campaign seeks to highlight the issues of sustainable fishing, in particular the issue of discards, and to influence the reform of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.

Alison Brown