Seafood Mislabled: Study Shows 33 Percent of Seafood Sold in US Labeled Incorrectly, Oceana Reveals Fish Fraud [VIDEO]

According to a study conducted between 2010 and 2012, 33 percent of fish sold in the United States was labeled incorrectly. Research conducted by non-profit organization Oceana revealed that seafood fraud was to blame.

In the study, Oceana collected over 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retailers across the US, including grocery stores, restaurants, and sushi vendors. Oceana then sent the samples to be tested to make sure the seafood matched the labels on the packaging. Must to the dismay of seafood customers, a shocking 33 percent of those samples were mislabeled.

According to the study, samples labeled "red snapper" or "tuna" were labeled incorrectly the most often. Heraldonline.com reported that Southern California had over 50 percent of mislabeled fish. Some samples in New York labeled as "halibut" and "red snapper" were found to contain tile fish, which has high levels of mercury and can be dangerous.

So who is doing the mislabeling and why? Well that depends on who you ask. Some would blame the restaurateurs themselves. The FDA; however, according to a 2009 Government Accountability Office report, tests less than one percent of seafood sold in the US for fraud.

Oceana found that sushi restaurants would pass off escolar as "white tuna", which isn't even technically fish. When taken in large quantities, escolar is known to cause diarrhea.

So how can this be prevented? Some industry experts are calling for practices that would make it more difficult for chefs, restaurateurs and distributors to mislead the public. We could see increased traceability in the future, where each fish receives an ID number that is carried over with each purchase. On the surface, this seems like a daunting task, but it may be needed if consumers are going to be lied to.

Dealing with seafood can be tricky business and for seafood lovers, if you aren't eating what you think you are eating, it could lead to sickness. It's important that the seafood industry acts quickly to correct this problem, because when consumers hear seafood and mislabeling in the same sentence, it's sure to cause some worry.

Are you seafood lovers worried about this?