The ever-present flake from fish and chips shops is actually endangered shark 10 per cent of the time, new research finds. The Macquarie University study, published this month, found high levels of mislabelling of shark product in Australian fish markets and seafood shops, including ambiguous labels which did not adhere to the Australian Fish Names Standard. Mislabelling masks the presence of threatened species, the author says.
In Australia, ‘flake’ cuts are supposed to be only gummy shark or New Zealand rig shark, but nationwide research has found 88 per cent of ‘flake’ samples were from neither of these species. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. The study identified nine samples which came from three species listed as threatened, including the critically endangered scalloped hammerhead and school shark; all were sold as ‘flake’.
“I was surprised by the amount of people who didn’t know what flake was. They didn’t realise it was shark, or even know that shark could be sold,” researcher Teagen Parker Kielniacz said. “Everybody wants to trust that what they’re eating is what the label says it is,” Ms Parker Kielniacz said.
“Our study found that for 70 per cent of samples, we’re not getting what’s on the label – that’s really significant.” For the study, 91 samples of shark meat from 28 retailers across six Australian states and territories were collected. DNA testing showed seven in every.