May 9, 2006
Department Inspectors "Stop Sale" Fish Mislabeled As Grouper
Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced that inspectors from his department have intercepted nearly 8,000 pounds of farm-raised Vietnamese broadhead filets that were packaged and labeled as grouper.
The discovery was made last week at Shifco Inc., a food processing plant in Hialeah, during the course of a routine inspection of the facility.
Inspectors immediately issued a "stop sale" order, prohibiting the company from selling any of the product and have asked the company for its distribution list so they can contact customers to determine whether any of the bogus grouper already had been sent out.
"When residents of and visitors to this state pay a premium price to purchase a highly desirable fish such as grouper, they are entitled to receive it," Bronson said. "Any individual or company that substitutes a cheaper fish is defrauding consumers."
Bronson said that the investigation is continuing to determine what sanctions to take in the case.
Farm-raised broadhead filets are in the Catfish family and generally are sold to distributors for $2.50 to $3 a pound. Wild-caught grouper goes at wholesale for about $5 to $6 a pound, meaning that the substitution detected during last Wednesday's inspection could have netted the company an additional $15,000 to $28,000.
Under Florida law, it is illegal to mislabel a food product. Fines of up to $5,000 can be imposed for repeat offenders.
According to Bronson's Food Safety Division, Shifco Inc. does not have any previous record for mislabeling food products.
For more information:
Terence McElroy
(850) 488-3022
mcelrot@doacs.state.fl.us
