What are you really feeding your family?‏

When you buy fish for dinner, you probably think that the fish listed on the label is actually the type of fish you are buying.

But what if the fish you cook for your family isn’t what it says it is?

Recent studies have found that seafood may be mislabeled as often as 25 to 70 percent of the time, disguising species that are less desirable, cheaper or more readily available - which means you could be feeding your family mislabeled, unsustainable fish.

The FDA has the power to enforce better labeling, increase inspections, and improve seafood safety, but they won’t do it unless we push them.

Tell the FDA that you only want safe, legal and honestly labeled seafood on your plate »

You have the right to know where the fish you eat comes from, what kind it is, when and how it was caught and if it was farmed. You should be able to trace your meal from boat to plate. If companies aren’t telling you the truth about what fish you’re buying, why should you trust them to follow health and safety laws?

But lax restrictions and import controls mean you could be eating seafood that:

• Is really a cheaper fish, like tilapia, labeled as a more expensive fish to drive up profits;
• Was “laundered” by mixing illegally caught fish with legitimate catches, undermining conservation laws;
• You are allergic to, but you don’t know it because it’s mislabeled;
• You think is a sustainable choice, but is really a severely overfished species.

Eating fish should be a healthy, smart choice for you and your family. You should be able to know more about the fish you are feeding your family. But until the FDA makes combating seafood fraud a priority, we won’t really know what we’re eating- and that’s unacceptable.

Make your voice heard today. Tell the FDA to ensure that only safe, legally caught and honestly labeled seafood makes it to US shelves»

Thank you for taking a stand to keep your family – and our oceans – healthy.

For the oceans,
Beth Lowell
Oceana