Video

Part 1

On the menu, but not on your plate

A Globe investigation found fish bought at restaurants across the region was mislabeled about half the time. Sometimes it was innocent error, but often the switch was deliberate, driven by profits.

Part 2

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2011/10/24/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/snapper-1323--90x90.jpg Fish supply chain open to abuses

The rampant mislabeling of fish that consumers buy can be largely traced to this: the lack of anything like the regulations imposed on meat suppliers.

State moves to take action against mislabeling of fish

Officials are considering the use of DNA testing to combat fish mislabeling, weighing a ban on the sale of escolar, and launching a program to trace fish through the supply chain.

Scrutiny vowed on fish labeling

State officials say they will improve oversight of seafood sales after a Globe investigation revealed widespread mislabeling at area restaurants.

606 Congress executive chef Richard Garcia buys fish for the South Boston restaurant through Trace and Trust.

Fish tracking system ensures identity, freshness

The Trace and Trust program is one of several tracking fish from the boat to the customer’s plate as concerns grow over mislabeling of seafood.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2011/10/24/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/24fishfraud1.1--90x90.jpg ‘Key West grouper’ in name only

A fish described by T.G.I. Friday's as Key West grouper at hundreds of restaurants across the country was later found to be Vietnamese catfish.

How the Globe tested fish DNA

Searchable database

Searchable database: Results of the Globe’s fish testing

Graphic

DNA test results, by species

Animated video

How fish gets mislabeled
Albacore tuna, left, is often replaced by Escolar, a fish known to cause gastrointestinal problems.

Video | The Back Story

The Back Story: Fish mislabeling

“Some people want to lie to the public and call it fresh, and for some people it’s just an oversight.”

Mike Barry , who runs Pier Fish, a Boston supplier
At Minado Restaurant in Natick, tilapia was substituted for red snapper and escolar was advertised as white tuna. A manager at the sushi buffet said escolar was the American name for white tuna.

Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

At Minado Restaurant in Natick, tilapia was substituted for red snapper and escolar was advertised as white tuna. A manager at the sushi buffet said escolar was the American name for white tuna.

At East Bay Grille in Plymouth, what was advertised as native scrod or haddock was actually PREVIOUSLY FROZEN Pacific cod. A general manager said the restaurant hadn’t yet updated the menu. THE REVISED MENU, HOWEVER, STILL DESCRIBES THE FISH AS

Debee Tlumacki for The Boston Globe

At East Bay Grille in Plymouth, what was advertised as native scrod or haddock was actually previously frozen Pacific cod. A general manager said the restaurant hadn’t yet updated the menu. The revised menu, however, still describes the fish as "fresh day boat scrod."

At Skipjack’s in Foxborough, escolar was also incorrectly labeled as white tuna. The restaurant changed its menu to list the FISH as both white tuna and escolar. ESCOLAR, HOWEVER, IS NOT PART OF THE TUNA FAMILY.

Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

At Skipjack’s in Foxborough, escolar was also incorrectly labeled as white tuna. The restaurant chain changed its menu to list the item as both white tuna and escolar. Escolar, however, is not part of the tuna family.

McCormick & Schmick’s in the Back Bay, SUBSTITUTED haddock, A DELECTABLE BUT BUT MORE ABUNDANT AND TRADITIONALLY CHEAPER SPECIES, FOR ATLANTIC cod. The restaurant apologized for the mistake.

Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

McCormick & Schmick’s in the Back Bay substituted haddock, a delectable but more abundant and traditionally cheaper species, for Atlantic cod. An official with the restaurant chain apologized for the mistake.

THE OPERATOR OF Kowloon in Saugus said HE was unaware that escolar was BEING SERVED as white tuna and that tilapia was labeled as red snapper

Globe File Photo

The operator of Kowloon in Saugus said he was unaware that escolar was being served as white tuna and that tilapia was labeled as red snapper.

The owner of Doyle’s Cafe said he thought he was serving Atlantic cod in a dish, but it was actually caught off Alaska and shipped east in freezer containers.

Essdras M Suarez/Globe Staff

The owner of Doyle’s Cafe said he thought he was serving Atlantic cod in a dish, but it was actually caught off Alaska and shipped east in freezer containers.

At the H Mart supermarket in Burlington, crimson snapper was WAS SUBSTITUTED FOR THE MORE EXPENSIVE red snapper. AND ESCOLAR, WHICH CAN CAUSE GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS, TOOK THE PLACE OF WHITE TUNA FILLETS. The store blamed a supplier for the mix-up.

Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff

At the H Mart supermarket in Burlington, crimson snapper was substituted for the more expensive red snapper. And escolar, which can cause gastrointestinal problems, took the place of white tuna. An executive with H Mart blamed a supplier for the mix-up.

Bertucci’s tries to right a wrong

The story of how hake ended up as cod on the menu at 94 Bertucci’s restaurants is not unusual. But when the chain found out, they decided to fix the mislabeling.

Bertucci’s executive chef Jeff Tenner prepared fish samples being considered as replacements for fillets formerly used in the chain’s Baked Merluzzo.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Bertucci’s executive chef Jeff Tenner prepared fish samples being considered as replacements for fillets formerly used in the chain’s Baked Merluzzo.

Globe-sponsored DNA testing showed the dish contained hake instead of the cod described on the restaurants’ menus. Bertucci’s decided to replace the hake after the Globe informed it of the DNA test results.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Globe-sponsored DNA testing showed the dish contained hake instead of the cod described on the restaurants’ menus. Bertucci’s decided to replace the hake after the Globe informed it of the DNA test results.

The box shown here describes the fish Bertucci's formerly used in its Baked Merluzzo. It was hake, not the cod listed on the menu.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

The box shown here describes the fish Bertucci's formerly used in its Baked Merluzzo. It was hake, not the cod listed on the menu.

Bertucci’s chefs spent several weeks finding new suppliers for cod and trying out different samples of the fish.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Bertucci’s chefs spent several weeks finding new suppliers for cod and trying out different samples of the fish.

Tenner, the executive chef, examined a cod sample being considered as a replacement for hake.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Tenner, the executive chef, examined a cod sample being considered as a replacement for hake.

Among the fish being considered for Baked Merluzzo was a North Atlantic cod loin from Iceland and a Pacific cod fillet from Alaska.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Among the fish being considered for Baked Merluzzo were a North Atlantic cod loin from Iceland and a Pacific cod fillet from Alaska.

Tenner presented all four fish – in raw and cooked versions -- to a panel of company executives for taste-testing.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Tenner presented all four fish – in raw and cooked versions -- to a panel of company executives for taste-testing.

Each prepared dish, carefully labeled, was wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in the 575-degree brick oven.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

Each prepared dish, carefully labeled, was wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in the 575-degree brick oven.

The tasting panel unanimously agreed that Pacific cod, from Boston’s North Coast Seafoods, was the best option. It is now being used in the Baked Merluzzo dish.

Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe

The tasting panel unanimously agreed that Pacific cod, from Boston’s North Coast Seafoods, was the best option. It is now being used in the Baked Merluzzo dish.