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On the menu, but not on your plate

Part 1

THIS STORY APPEARED IN

October 23, 2011|By Jenn Abelson and Beth Daley

(Page 6 of 6)

Kristin Struck, food and beverage director at Not Your Average Joe’s, said she was surprised by the DNA results. She said the company, which has 14 Massachusetts restaurants, would not deliberately place a threatened species on the menu, and had changed seafood suppliers before the chain learned of the Globe’s DNA test.

“It is just sad,’’ said Jennifer Jacquet, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre who has written about seafood fraud. “Even if you are doing all you can to avoid a fish species like bluefin, you are still not protected from eating it.’’

Ming Tsai, celebrity chef and owner of Blue Ginger, said he understands the economic and environmental costs of mislabeling. But he said he used the name butterfish instead of sablefish simply because it sounds better.

“Butterfish rolls off the tongue,’’ said Tsai, who added that he thought the FDA allowed its use to describe sablefish in Massachusetts. It does not.

Eric Reid, a seafood wholesaler who sells genuine butterfish that local fishermen catch off Rhode Island, said there is no excuse for misleading consumers.

“A lot of people do it until they get caught,’’ Reid said. “We don’t play the game. But too many people do. And the average consumer just doesn’t know.’’