research<\/a>, conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, tested products from supermarkets, fish markets and online retailers. Astonishingly, 93% of the samples were either falsely labeled or so vaguely described that buyers had no way of knowing the species they were eating. Only one item carried an accurate, species-specific label.<\/p>\n\u201cThe purpose of this study was to quantify the identity of \u2018shark\u2019 meat sold in the United States,\u201d Savannah Ryburn, a marine ecologist who headed the study, told the Guardian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe purchased and DNA barcoded 29 shark meat products from grocery stores, seafood markets, and online vendors in the United States to determine their species identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shark meat Photograph: Courtesy of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<\/p>\n
DNA analysis revealed meat from 11 different shark species, including the great hammerhead and scalloped hammerhead, both classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite their fragile status, these species were found in American markets for as little as $2.99 per lb.<\/p>\n
The study, now published in Frontiers in Marine Science, reported that 27 of the 29 tested samples were marketed only as \u201cshark\u201d or \u201cmako shark\u201d. Of the two products with species names, one turned out to be misidentified.<\/p>\n
Ryburn, who also co-teaches a seafood forensics course that produced the research, emphasized the impact of misleading labels: \u201cMislabeling and ambiguous labeling remove consumers\u2019 ability to choose what they are putting in their bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, two species in our study, scalloped hammerhead and great hammerhead, were ambiguously labeled as \u2018shark\u2019, even though they are strongly advised against consumption due to their very high contaminant levels,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout accurate and precise labeling, consumers cannot avoid purchasing these products.\u201d<\/p>\n
The findings also highlight health concerns, as shark meat is known to contain large concentrations of mercury, which can be especially dangerous for children and pregnant women.<\/p>\n
\u201cShark meat contains high levels of mercury, illustrating the implications of seafood mislabeling for human health,\u201d Ryburn said. \u201cThe availability of shark meat in US grocery stores is surprising given the dramatic decline of shark populations globally.\u201d<\/p>\n
The number of sharks in the ocean has declined by over 70%<\/a> since 1970, with an increasing demand for shark meat being a key factor in the decline. Shark populations are overfished throughout the world, with another contributor being the use of shark products in everyday items such as pet food and cosmetics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A recent study has revealed that the majority of shark meat available to American shoppers is mislabeled, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-139956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}