The Globe story, which was picked up by the liberal Huffington Post website, accused North Coast of fraudulently labeling Pacific cod as Atlantic cod, haddock and cod as scrod, and so on. But BSB Secretary Lisa Weddig said her agency had looked at the actual sales records.
"Our review of the invoices and accusations reveals North Coast delivered correctly labeled fish to all of its customers. There is nothing 'technical' about this important fact. Likewise, all of the fish names on those invoices were accurate and labeled exactly as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires," she said.
The Globe, she complained, is blaming North Coast for mislabeling that is actually being done by restaurants. The Massachusetts Food Code, she noted, is clear that restaurants and regulators not distributors -- are responsible for accurate menu labels. It is illegal for establishments to "mislead or misinform the consumer" (105 CMR 590 §590.001.)
"Pointing out that rose snapper was invoiced by North Coast as snapper suggests a violation of some sort," Weddig said. "The fact is the FDA says labeling rose snapper as snapper is accurate and the more acceptable name. Likewise while the Union Oyster House lists fresh Boston Scrod on the menu, the FDA does not
consider 'scrod' as an acceptable name for labeling either haddock or cod."
The restaurant business even admits it bears the burden of responsibility, she added. In October of 2011 the CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Peter Christie, told the Globe that "some [restaurant] operators were knowingly, for whatever reason, substituting one species with another. This is unacceptable." It is unacceptable but pointing fingers at distributors, hand wringing and musing about creating redundant regulations will not successfully address the issue.
