Deceit with decapods? Evaluating labelling accuracy of crustacean products in South Africa

Abstract

Despite the high value of decapod crustaceans, relatively little research has focused on assessing the transparency in the marketing of these species. This study represents the first comprehensive evaluation of the quality of labelling, and the extent of mislabelling, of decapod crustacean products on the South African market. Data collected through surveys of supermarkets and seafood shops in three provinces (KwaZulu-Natal [KZN], Western Cape [WC] and Gauteng [GP]), indicated that the large majority of domestically available crustacean products were imported, but that 18% of these failed to comply with locally applicable country of origin labelling regulations. Voluntary information relating to the scientific name, production method (wild caught or farmed), and capture method of the species was supplied more frequently in supermarkets than in seafood shops, more frequently in the WC and GP than in KZN, and more frequently on shrimp products than on crab and lobster products. DNA sequencing of 77 products collected from the surveyed outlets revealed that 24 (31%) were misrepresented in some way. Species misrepresentations were most pronounced for shrimps, with Litopenaeus vannamei and Pleoticus muelleri being confirmed as the most common substitute species. One shrimp product was found to contain at least three different species, none of which matched the declared species, whereas a product labelled as crab turned out to be a member of the phylum Mollusca rather than the subphylum Crustacea. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the misrepresentation of crustaceans is commonplace on the South African market, signalling the need for a revision of the current seafood labelling and traceability legislation, as well as monitoring and enforcement efforts.