FRAUD ALERT: 1/3 of Tested Restaurant Lobster Dishes Actually Contain Cheaper Seafood

[tomm2thumbs]

INSIDE EDITION visited 28 restaurants around the county, including local seafood spots and national chains. Nathan’s, Red Lobster and even the Soupman – the New York eatery made famous by Seinfeld – were among them. The meat was scooped out from a variety of lobster dishes and sent off to a lab, where DNA tests were carried out to see if there was anything fishy about the lobster. It emerged that in 35 percent of the samples, the lab found cheap substitutes instead of lobster.

A restaurant called ‘Get Hooked,’ just outside of Tampa, Florida, served up lobster rolls – but INSIDE EDITION found samples of the meat actually contained whiting, an inexpensive fish. <snip>

At the country’s largest seafood chain, Red Lobster, INSIDE EDITION ordered lobster bisque soup from three different locations and scooped out the meat. One sample included only langostino, a less expensive seafood more closely related to hermit crab than lobster, and two others had a combination of langostino and lobster. The FDA told INSIDE EDITION that soup with only langostino cannot be called lobster bisque. It must be labelled as langostingo lobster bisque.


*more
http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/14518-a-third-of-tested-restaurant-lobster-dishes-actually-contain-cheaper-fish-meat-investigation-shows

* note 1/3 of those tested -- I wonder if that would go up if all were tested, especially the big corporate chains



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CORPORATIONS AND YOUR FOOD -- BUYER BEWARE!!!!

[yeoman6987]

1. I don't go to red lobster and expect real seafood

That is a chain. It's been at least 3 years since I've been to one.

[MynameisBlarney]

9. I have been boycotting Red Lobster for 20 + years.

I read an article a loooong time ago, that Red Lobster hired pirates to kill off Native fisherman in South and Central America.

Don't know if it's true or not, because the article was in High Times, but it was enough for me to stop eating there.

Anyway, it's kind of a moot point for me anyway, as I live in the Fl. Keys, so I can get fresh seafood any time of year right from the fishery.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

2. I saw artificial crab at the 99 Cent store.

[sweetloukillbot]

3. I pretty much assume anything that says it is lobster and is not over $20 is langostino

At some point they started calling langostino "mini lobster" or some crap like that. Lobster figures into the name even though they aren't actually lobsters, so they're able to call it that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Dead Lobster has great biscuits.

But you can buy the mix so you don't have to go to the restaurant for lobster that isn't lobster.

[forest444]

5. Lobster tacos especially, which are usually shrimp.

There's a very popular dive in Laguna Beach, CA, known for pulling that very trick.

That said, they're served so well that nobody minds.

[Human101948]

6. Think You Ate Tuna Sushi For Lunch? Study Finds Mislabeled Fish Nationwide Problem

A third of the seafood sold across the United States is incorrectly labeled according the nonprofit marine conservation group, Oceana. Researchers conducted genetic testing of various types of fish procured in restaurants, sushi joints, and fish markets in 21 states between 2010 and 2012....

...Oceana also found that 84 percent of the white tuna samples tested were actually escolar – a species that can cause serious digestive issues for vulnerable individuals who eat more than just a few ounces. Escolar is also not among the 14 species that can be deemed “tuna” according to the Food and Drug Administration.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2013/02/21/think-you-ate-tuna-sushi-for-lunch-new-study-finds-mislabeled-fish-a-prolific-nationwide-problem/#2fa5249c4b21

Those serious digestive issues include anal leakage.

[SCVDem]

7. Just another reason

I gave up on fish. Besides pollution you have the rip offs and the price gouging.

I passed one fast food joint who was selling Fish Meal for $19.95.

Fish meal is what you feed plants and other fish!

[NCjack]

8. Wow! In the best seafood restaurant in town, 6 huge deep sea scallops for $5 --

Not really, they are punched from stingrays. Do it yourself -- good! Oldest deception in the book. If you want authentic seafood, go to a fresh market, examine it, never take your eyes off it as it packed for you, take it home, and cook it yourself. Or do the fake substitution yourself. Here is a recipe for the best fake "crab" cakes ever:
[link:http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Connies-Zucchini-Crab-Cakes|] (If the link fails to show, search allrecipes Connies zucchini crab cakes)

[erpowers]

10. Saw the Story on TV

I saw the story on Inside Edition when it first aired. As other in this discussion have said, this is a major problem across all of seafood. There have been multiple stories about how different types of fish have been mislabeled when sold to consumers. It is really sad what is happening in the food industry today. You really just do not know what you are eating unless you pay attention and sometimes even then you do not know. Lemonade that does not include lemons, or lemon juice. It is really getting to the point where if you want to eat something you have to grow it and cook it yourself.

[DFW]

11. This kind of thing happens all over the world

Not just with corporations (I'm sure someone will find a website proving this is all somehow Hillary's doing).

Here in Germany, there are Döner Kebap stands everywhere. As Muslims are not supposed to eat pork, the meat on the spits is supposed to be all lamb and veal. Well, samples were taken all around Germany, and the good Muslims were using pork in plenty of their Döner Kebap stands. Pork is of course way cheaper than either of the other two kinds of meat. The Germans wouldn't care, but observant Muslims (as well as any Jews) would consider it scandalous to knowingly be fed pork by people who knew full well they weren't supposed to eat it.

My sister-in-law, who is Japanese, tells me that plenty of the beef in Japan is sold as Kobe beef when it is no such thing. When my wife was recovering from her cancer surgery, part of her rehab was done at a location in the Black Forest, a region famous for its smoked ham. One of the locals was telling us about it, and laughed, noting that something like four times the annual production of smoked Black Forest Ham was sold around the world each year as Black Forest Ham.

As someone who would move mountains to get in a few weeks on Cape Cod every summer, I can appreciate that people who like the taste of real lobster don't want to be taken. I have never eaten at a "Red Lobster," which appears to be about as authentic as "Kentucky" fried chicken--although I once heard form someone that Sanders (Harlan, not Bernie) was once called to testify before a committee of the House of Representatives. He was being questioned by "The Honorable Representative" So-and-So, and at one point, the Honorable Rep. So-And-So asked him if he was really a Colonel. Sanders, according to the story, responded by asking the Congressman if he was really honorable. Touché.

[yuiyoshida]

12. I wonder if there is a seafood shortage

due to weather conditions and over fishing. The dungeness crab season was late this year and again you can not buy abalone except for one week during the entire year. They are just not available.