Two trade organizationsthe National Restaurant Association and the National Fisheries Instituteare joining forces to fight fish fraud.
The groups announced on Monday they have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in their efforts to reduce the amount of seafood fraud.
NFI’s Better Seafood Board will make menu labeling review services available to NRA restaurants, and the restaurant group will promote reputable seafood companies that have pledged not to engage in fraud to its members. The board also will provide a business-to-business venue to report suspected seafood fraud.
The more we hear about fish fraud in the media the more finger pointing we see, Better Seafood Board Secretary Lisa Weddig said in a statement. Is it a case of species substitution by the distributor or is it menu mislabeling? We want to take the mystery out of that scenario and make sure restaurants and seafood providers are working together.
The board will lead presentations at NRA-sponsored events on topics including product mislabeling to short-weighting, and will work with restaurateurs to educate them about the difference between simple mistakes and fraud, both on invoices and menus.
This type of cooperation will help to ultimately strengthen consumer trust in establishments that are using all available resources to ensure an honest value chain, Sue Hensley, a restaurant association spokeswoman, said in a statement.
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