Post by tonya on Oct 29, 2006 23:01:49 GMT -5
October 29, 2006
Bait & switch?
You're out to eat and see grouper on the menu. But what are you really getting?
By M.C. MOEWE
Staff Writer
Like many Floridians whose love of the ocean extends to their diet, New Smyrna Beach residents Al and Debbie Grieshaber cast a wide net looking for the restaurant that best prepares their favorite fish.
About this story
News-Journal reporters and editors recently dined anonymously at 10 area restaurants. They ordered grouper and cut away a 2-inch square of the thickest part of the fillet. These samples were frozen, packaged with dry ice and mailed for testing to Therion International, a DNA laboratory in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Therion, which was paid for the service by The News-Jour nal, compared DNA sequences obtained from the fish with samples from the DNA database at the National Institute of Health. Six proved to be grouper, three were determined to be catfish and one was emperor fish.
Did you know?
Is that a boy or girl grouper?
· You can't always be sure with a grouper, at least not for long. That's because grouper have the ability to change sex from female to male as needed.
· Grouper are near the top of their food chain, so only a few can live at any one place. During spawning season - or, say, "ladies night" at the local reef - if there are too few males, dominant females can change sex and improve the percentages.
SOURCES: News-Journal research; Florida State University Coleman and Koenig Research Laboratory
"We love grouper sandwiches," said Al Grieshaber Jr., 61.
But there's a catch.
When The News-Journal sent the grouper from 10 area restaurants to a DNA lab, four proved to be a cheaper fish, including an Asian catfish that has been banned in three states.
And it's not just Daytona Beach-area restaurants fudging the truth about their fish. Tests conducted on fish at restaurants in 24 U.S. cities showed that customers got what they ordered less than half the time, said Will Gergits, a spokesman with Therion International, the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., lab contracted by The News-Journal for the testing.
But knowing whom to blame for the wrong fish is hard to pinpoint. Is it restaurant staff, the distributor, packing companies or fishermen?
In the meals tested locally, six were grouper. Three tested as Asian catfish, one as emperor fish. Told of the discrepancies, restaurant staff offered differing explanations.
"No, no, dammit," said Johan Van Nieuwland, the kitchen manager for 21 years at J.B.'s Fish Camp.
Clad in a white kitchen smock, he stomped his foot in frustration on the floor of the New Smyrna Beach restaurant. "We've never used catfish."
Van Nieuwland phoned the next day to explain that he was unaware that basa is a type of catfish. He speculated that a basa fillet was mistakenly used on the $16.50 blackened grouper dinner served Sept. 4 and tested by the DNA lab.
"Somehow, something got mixed up at the restaurant," he said.
At Harry's Restaurant in Deltona, Chef Tim Talamo didn't seem surprised that the Asian catfish was used when a $7.95 grouper sandwich was ordered Aug. 29.
"I've been to so many places that use the same fish I do, and they call it grouper," Talamo said. "Everybody and their brother is using this fish."
That's likely a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Act, said JoAnn Carrin, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Charlie Crist. The Economic Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General began investigating grouper substitutions in August.
"I'm not really at liberty to go into the details of the investigation," said Carrin, adding that violators face up to a $15,000 fine for each infraction the state can prove.
In August, two Panama City seafood companies and their manager pleaded guilty to falsely selling Vietnam catfish as grouper, said Stephen Preisser, an assistant U.S. attorney based in Tallahassee. After an 18-month investigation, officials found the defendants had sold more than a million pounds of the catfish as grouper.
"We all can be tricked," Preisser said of the restaurants that served the fish. "But I would think someone in the business would know the difference. If a jeweler sold you a diamond that turned out to be glass, wouldn't you expect they'd know the difference?"
At WingHouse Bar & Grill on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach, the sandwich that tested as an Asian catfish was listed as "Grouper's Teammate" on the menu, said Jeff Stine, vice president of purchasing for the Largo-based chain.
When grouper became difficult to find, the chain started buying Swai Basa, and the menu was changed, Stine said. A notation explains: "While catching grouper off the Florida Coast (founder Crawford Ker) found a better fish."
Asked if the catfish is caught off the Florida coast, Stine answered: "Now I think you're splitting hairs."
Basa is a fish from the catfish family normally raised in the Mekong River in Vietnam, said Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute in Jackson, Miss.
The "Asian invasion" of the wide-bodied fish with a small snake-like head started about six years ago, Barlow said.
"It's raised in deplorable conditions," he said.
Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana have banned the fish, and three years ago the federal government imposed a tariff on basa that increases the price by up to 66 percent to prevent "dumping" on the U.S. market, he said.
That has spurred importers to label basa as other kinds of fish such as grouper, Barlow said.
"There is a tremendous lack of inspection," he said.
The Food and Drug Administration has caught several seafood companies -- including three this year -- that have mislabeled basa as grouper, said FDA Safety Officer Spring Randolph, adding that only 2 percent of all imports are inspected.
Five Vietnam companies are currently on the FDA's watch list for importing basa containing unapproved drugs, according to the agency's Web site. The chemicals were similar to those found by the Alabama Commission of Agri- culture & Industries in October 2005 after officials there said they tested 19 samples of the Vietnamese fish finding an antibiotic banned by the FDA in 1997 and a synthetic dye shown to be potentially carcinogenic.
At Norwood's, a New Smyrna Beach restaurant that served grouper as advertised, owner Pamela Simmons said buying fish caught in area waters leaves no room for error.
The fish is delivered four times a week, whole, with documentation showing what waters the fish was caught in, the date caught, the name of the boat, the name of the boat's captain and the method used to catch the fish. The restaurant fillets the fish in-house.
"If it's a grouper," she said, "we know it."
mary.moewe@news-jrnl.com
How area restaurants fared in our test
Restaurant, address Menu item Price Actual item Source Explanation
Norwood's Restaurant & Wine Shop, 400 Second Ave., New Smyrna Beach
stuffed grouper
$10.99
grouper
fresh local
Buys fish whole with documentation indicating when and where it was caught
Bonefish Grill, 814 S. Atlantic Ave., Ormond Beach
grilled grouper
$18.20
grouper
fresh Gulf grouper
Do their own testing on fats and oils to make sure they get quality fish
J.B.'s Fish Camp & Seafood Restaurant, 859 Pompano Ave., New Smyrna Beach
blackened grouper
$16.50
Asian catfish
frozen import
Could have been a mix-up; showed invoices for grouper
Fisherman's Net, 500 S. Oceanshore Blvd. Flagler Beach
broiled grouper
$16.95
grouper
fresh local
Has used the same trusted distributor for 18 years
Caribbean Jack's Restaurant & Marina, 721 Ballough Road, Daytona Beach
Macadamia grouper
$19.99
grouper
fresh local
Knowledgeable staff and using trusted purveyors
WingHouse Bar & Grill, 2725 W. International S. Blvd. Daytona Beach
grouper's teammate sandwich
$7.99
Asian catfish
frozen import
Says menu points out that the president found a better fish while catching grouper off the Florida coast
Harry's Restaurant, 481 Deltona Blvd., Deltona
grouper sandwich
$7.95
Asian catfish
frozen import
Box said grouper but later shipment from same company said basa so menu was then changed
Inlet Harbor Marina & Restaurant, 133 Inlet Harbor Road, Ponce Inlet
grilled grouper
$20.99
grouper
fresh local
Staff routinely inspects the texture and smell of the fish to ensure it is grouper
Our Deck Down Under, 78 Dunlawton Ave., Port Orange
fried grouper sandwich
$11.99
emperor fish
frozen import
Did not distinguish between fried and grilled until a month ago; grilled is Lake Victoria perch that they call "snook"
Baleen Restaurant, 2637 S. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach Shores
grilled grouper
$30
grouper
fresh Gulf grouper
Chef inspects daily delivery of all seafood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 News-Journal Corporation. ® www.news-journalonline.com. Do not republish or distribute without permission.
Trust me, I asked the NJ for permission to post their articles. They prefer the cut & paste rather than the link. BTW, THEY ROCK!
Tonya
Bait & switch?
You're out to eat and see grouper on the menu. But what are you really getting?
By M.C. MOEWE
Staff Writer
Like many Floridians whose love of the ocean extends to their diet, New Smyrna Beach residents Al and Debbie Grieshaber cast a wide net looking for the restaurant that best prepares their favorite fish.
About this story
News-Journal reporters and editors recently dined anonymously at 10 area restaurants. They ordered grouper and cut away a 2-inch square of the thickest part of the fillet. These samples were frozen, packaged with dry ice and mailed for testing to Therion International, a DNA laboratory in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Therion, which was paid for the service by The News-Jour nal, compared DNA sequences obtained from the fish with samples from the DNA database at the National Institute of Health. Six proved to be grouper, three were determined to be catfish and one was emperor fish.
Did you know?
Is that a boy or girl grouper?
· You can't always be sure with a grouper, at least not for long. That's because grouper have the ability to change sex from female to male as needed.
· Grouper are near the top of their food chain, so only a few can live at any one place. During spawning season - or, say, "ladies night" at the local reef - if there are too few males, dominant females can change sex and improve the percentages.
SOURCES: News-Journal research; Florida State University Coleman and Koenig Research Laboratory
"We love grouper sandwiches," said Al Grieshaber Jr., 61.
But there's a catch.
When The News-Journal sent the grouper from 10 area restaurants to a DNA lab, four proved to be a cheaper fish, including an Asian catfish that has been banned in three states.
And it's not just Daytona Beach-area restaurants fudging the truth about their fish. Tests conducted on fish at restaurants in 24 U.S. cities showed that customers got what they ordered less than half the time, said Will Gergits, a spokesman with Therion International, the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., lab contracted by The News-Journal for the testing.
But knowing whom to blame for the wrong fish is hard to pinpoint. Is it restaurant staff, the distributor, packing companies or fishermen?
In the meals tested locally, six were grouper. Three tested as Asian catfish, one as emperor fish. Told of the discrepancies, restaurant staff offered differing explanations.
"No, no, dammit," said Johan Van Nieuwland, the kitchen manager for 21 years at J.B.'s Fish Camp.
Clad in a white kitchen smock, he stomped his foot in frustration on the floor of the New Smyrna Beach restaurant. "We've never used catfish."
Van Nieuwland phoned the next day to explain that he was unaware that basa is a type of catfish. He speculated that a basa fillet was mistakenly used on the $16.50 blackened grouper dinner served Sept. 4 and tested by the DNA lab.
"Somehow, something got mixed up at the restaurant," he said.
At Harry's Restaurant in Deltona, Chef Tim Talamo didn't seem surprised that the Asian catfish was used when a $7.95 grouper sandwich was ordered Aug. 29.
"I've been to so many places that use the same fish I do, and they call it grouper," Talamo said. "Everybody and their brother is using this fish."
That's likely a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Act, said JoAnn Carrin, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Charlie Crist. The Economic Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General began investigating grouper substitutions in August.
"I'm not really at liberty to go into the details of the investigation," said Carrin, adding that violators face up to a $15,000 fine for each infraction the state can prove.
In August, two Panama City seafood companies and their manager pleaded guilty to falsely selling Vietnam catfish as grouper, said Stephen Preisser, an assistant U.S. attorney based in Tallahassee. After an 18-month investigation, officials found the defendants had sold more than a million pounds of the catfish as grouper.
"We all can be tricked," Preisser said of the restaurants that served the fish. "But I would think someone in the business would know the difference. If a jeweler sold you a diamond that turned out to be glass, wouldn't you expect they'd know the difference?"
At WingHouse Bar & Grill on International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach, the sandwich that tested as an Asian catfish was listed as "Grouper's Teammate" on the menu, said Jeff Stine, vice president of purchasing for the Largo-based chain.
When grouper became difficult to find, the chain started buying Swai Basa, and the menu was changed, Stine said. A notation explains: "While catching grouper off the Florida Coast (founder Crawford Ker) found a better fish."
Asked if the catfish is caught off the Florida coast, Stine answered: "Now I think you're splitting hairs."
Basa is a fish from the catfish family normally raised in the Mekong River in Vietnam, said Roger Barlow, president of The Catfish Institute in Jackson, Miss.
The "Asian invasion" of the wide-bodied fish with a small snake-like head started about six years ago, Barlow said.
"It's raised in deplorable conditions," he said.
Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana have banned the fish, and three years ago the federal government imposed a tariff on basa that increases the price by up to 66 percent to prevent "dumping" on the U.S. market, he said.
That has spurred importers to label basa as other kinds of fish such as grouper, Barlow said.
"There is a tremendous lack of inspection," he said.
The Food and Drug Administration has caught several seafood companies -- including three this year -- that have mislabeled basa as grouper, said FDA Safety Officer Spring Randolph, adding that only 2 percent of all imports are inspected.
Five Vietnam companies are currently on the FDA's watch list for importing basa containing unapproved drugs, according to the agency's Web site. The chemicals were similar to those found by the Alabama Commission of Agri- culture & Industries in October 2005 after officials there said they tested 19 samples of the Vietnamese fish finding an antibiotic banned by the FDA in 1997 and a synthetic dye shown to be potentially carcinogenic.
At Norwood's, a New Smyrna Beach restaurant that served grouper as advertised, owner Pamela Simmons said buying fish caught in area waters leaves no room for error.
The fish is delivered four times a week, whole, with documentation showing what waters the fish was caught in, the date caught, the name of the boat, the name of the boat's captain and the method used to catch the fish. The restaurant fillets the fish in-house.
"If it's a grouper," she said, "we know it."
mary.moewe@news-jrnl.com
How area restaurants fared in our test
Restaurant, address Menu item Price Actual item Source Explanation
Norwood's Restaurant & Wine Shop, 400 Second Ave., New Smyrna Beach
stuffed grouper
$10.99
grouper
fresh local
Buys fish whole with documentation indicating when and where it was caught
Bonefish Grill, 814 S. Atlantic Ave., Ormond Beach
grilled grouper
$18.20
grouper
fresh Gulf grouper
Do their own testing on fats and oils to make sure they get quality fish
J.B.'s Fish Camp & Seafood Restaurant, 859 Pompano Ave., New Smyrna Beach
blackened grouper
$16.50
Asian catfish
frozen import
Could have been a mix-up; showed invoices for grouper
Fisherman's Net, 500 S. Oceanshore Blvd. Flagler Beach
broiled grouper
$16.95
grouper
fresh local
Has used the same trusted distributor for 18 years
Caribbean Jack's Restaurant & Marina, 721 Ballough Road, Daytona Beach
Macadamia grouper
$19.99
grouper
fresh local
Knowledgeable staff and using trusted purveyors
WingHouse Bar & Grill, 2725 W. International S. Blvd. Daytona Beach
grouper's teammate sandwich
$7.99
Asian catfish
frozen import
Says menu points out that the president found a better fish while catching grouper off the Florida coast
Harry's Restaurant, 481 Deltona Blvd., Deltona
grouper sandwich
$7.95
Asian catfish
frozen import
Box said grouper but later shipment from same company said basa so menu was then changed
Inlet Harbor Marina & Restaurant, 133 Inlet Harbor Road, Ponce Inlet
grilled grouper
$20.99
grouper
fresh local
Staff routinely inspects the texture and smell of the fish to ensure it is grouper
Our Deck Down Under, 78 Dunlawton Ave., Port Orange
fried grouper sandwich
$11.99
emperor fish
frozen import
Did not distinguish between fried and grilled until a month ago; grilled is Lake Victoria perch that they call "snook"
Baleen Restaurant, 2637 S. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach Shores
grilled grouper
$30
grouper
fresh Gulf grouper
Chef inspects daily delivery of all seafood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 News-Journal Corporation. ® www.news-journalonline.com. Do not republish or distribute without permission.
Trust me, I asked the NJ for permission to post their articles. They prefer the cut & paste rather than the link. BTW, THEY ROCK!
Tonya
