Each year fish or foods containing fish are sampled and analysed to determine compliance with Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (S.I. No 556 of 2014) in that the species of fish declared on the label is detected.
In 2018, 26 products at the product marketing stage were sampled on a random basis by Environmental Health Officers of the Health Service Executive (HSE), the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). Sample analysis was coordinated by the Public Analyst Laboratory in Cork.
All samples but one were compliant in that the species of fish declared on the label was detected. The non-compliant sample corresponded to a haddock labelled as cod.
| Sampling Agency | Number of samples tested | Sample description at the point of sampling | Number of compliant samples |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HSE |
16 |
10 Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) 2 Pacific Cod (G. macrocephalus) 2 Cod 1 Haddock 1 Smelt (Argentina silus) |
15* |
|
SFPA |
7 |
2 Pacific Cod 2 Atlantic Cod 1 Hake 1 Smoked salmon 1 Saithe (Pollachius virens) |
7 |
|
DAFM |
3 |
1 Atlantic Cod 1 Hake 1 Langoustine (Pleoticus muelleri) |
3 |
|
TOTAL |
26 |
- |
25 |
* One haddock sample was not compliant as it was labelled as cod, which was not detected.
Download a PDF version of Fish Authenticity Checks 2018