The Truth About Our Fish

Fish is supposed to be good for us. But is it? And can we always be sure what it is we’re eating?

- Tim Hulse

TO THE INEXPERT EYE, one piece of fish can often look much like any other. And the color, shape and texture of fish and other marine species can also be changed beyond recognition by modern processing techniques. So can we be sure that the fish on our plate is really what we think it is? Not too long ago, the answer would probably have been no. But thanks to tighter EU regulations,improvements in scientific testing and increased vigilance by major supermarket chains and manufacturers, the chances of our cod being cod and our hake being hake are these days considerably higher.

Yet the fact remains that as the most commonly traded foodstuff in the world, worth more than $130bn a year, seafood is big business, and policing the whole market is a huge task.

As one recent survey showed, even at the heart of the European Union, in the very canteens where its legislators eat, not every fish is what it’s meant to be. And as we discovered, the consequences of this so-called “seafood substitution” can sometimes be serious…

WHY FISH ISN’T ALWAYS GOOD FOR YOU

According to Professor Chris Elliott, an expert in food safety at Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, a growing number of people have allergies to fish. “But it tends to be very species-specific,” he says. “So if you know that you’re allergic to a particular species, then you avoid it in your diet. But if it’s coming into your diet by other means, then you are susceptible.”

In other words, if the fish you’re eating turns out not to be the fish described on the menu or the label, there could be a serious health issue.