Whatever you do when buying seafood products, please read the labels!

**wotnot** · 09-03-20, 03:35 PM

I'd like fellow aussies to take the time to read the fine print on so many food packaging labels, here's why ;

...the last images are the truly strange ones... so it's not actually an Australian product (but caught here), and you can't feed it to your cat, nor use it as bait to catch a decent flathead.... and you can't feed it as food to other aquatic animals?... wtf is this stuff? Last time I checked, whiting fillets could be eaten, given to the cat, used as bait, or used as burley.... is this *really* whiting? (the mind boggles)

When you're next in the canned seafood area of the supermarket, take the time to check out what's coming from where. As I mentioned elsewhere in this forum, pretty much all smoked oysters come out of China, even name brands. So many of these products, are coming from commercial aquaculture in countries you might think twice about buying from.... especially in times like these when 'flu pandemics have us all thinking about health. Not that health would at all be the only issue to think about here, but at the end of the day, how 'safe' do we really feel, about eating products such as these?

note: apols for grid lines in images, some xcb bug fighting with xfce screen-capture =)

**ol' boy** · 09-03-20, 03:59 PM

I think the usage has more to do with laws surrounding bait...

But agreed, it's fish....
What's the big deal.

Makes you wonder if it's not a Vietnam Trawler working in our waters...
Then processed in Vietnam, packaged and flown back here?

The Cocos Islands is an AU Territory in the Indian Ocean.
Does that mean the waters around it are Australian Waters?

Even though it's half way to India and closer to Indo

**wotnot** · 09-03-20, 04:46 PM

I know, even when you start thinking about the logistics involved, and the fact the shelf price undercuts any local product (including NZ here), it's beyond strange.

I included NZ because as far as the world is concerned, we're part of the same catch area related to seafood. When I say 'read the labels', this can be a bit more than plain English.

A good example is Aldi product lines. Many of their canned seafood products are labeled 'Made in Germany', which is where the processing/canning plant is. Often there will be a declaration of where exactly the fish was caught, as referenced by an 'FAO Catchment Number' and so you need to know what exactly that means ;

When you can see this part of the supply chain, you can roughly figure out that if the cannery is in one place, and the fishery a long long way away from that, that freshly caught fish spent a long time frozen in the hold before it got to processing (some factory ships do part processing). For Aldi, is often made in Germany, sourced from FAO areas 21 and 27.

This is all well and good, and the EU seem to have a more stringent requirement to product disclosures ; here's the kicker ; what happens when you go back to buy the same Aldi product, but 'something' has changed? It's labeled as the same product, but the can artwork/printing is somehow a bit 'off'...some fonts are different, some colours aren't quite the same hue/tint. When you check the back of the can, it looks the same..but now the FAO Catchment area numbers are missing? If I were to parallel this back to my electronics experiences, I'd say I'm looking at chinese knock-offs. It's the obvious pun, but I can't help but feel something fishy is going on here =)

What goats me with the above example, is the deliberate playing on the Australian context, where in reality that's tenuous at best...and the 'truth' labels are more than less secreted on the packaging side panels, and unless you take the time to prise the gusset open to have a look, you would never know.

edit: ref.

**hinekadon** · 09-03-20, 06:36 PM

area 51 beware of the martians fishing there ?????

**Jma** · 09-03-20, 07:32 PM

Anyone check out their
Seems all their listed certificates expired in either 2013 or 2014.
I thought food retailers were supposed to display current certificates/accreditations etc. while selling food to the public?

**george65** · 09-03-20, 08:40 PM

I have to say, I ALWAYS read the fine print on anything seafood.

Only have to look in the seafood sections at the supermarkets and in fish shops to see how much is caught from places I wouldn't want to eat anything from.
Much frozen fish products are the same as well as a lot of products with meat in them.
The other thing is Fruit and Veg. Why the Living Fk are we importing oranges from California for one thing when our growers here have more than enough to supply demand?
Same with a lot of other things. No, I don't want imported Bananas either or mangoes or pineapples that are all grown up north.
Don't even mention anything grown in china where they fertilise the crops with Human shit.

I don't care about price either. The local product is no expensive enough for me not to be able to afford it or make any difference to the weekly expenditure. Besides, if that the price I have to pay to reduce my chances of getting god knows what from some place with next to no health standards, That's fine, worth the extra to me well and truly.

I am a fussy bitch about where my tucker comes from and besides, I rather support Australian industry and families than contribute to anyone elses Economy that we are probably handing out Millions to already for god only knows what reason when there are endless things here that could well use extra money thrown at them.

**bob_m_54** · 10-03-20, 01:49 PM

The warning about not being used as bait, or not for feeding to aquatic animals is mandatory on a lot of imported seafood, to avoid any pest or diseases being introduced to local waters. Which puts into question the claim that it is Aussie product, even if processed overseas (why would that even be logical)

**alpha0ne** · 10-03-20, 02:11 PM

Same applies to the M'cstains brand, NZ product packaged in NZ but what they don't tell you is the shite they package comes from China

**Uncle Fester** · 10-03-20, 02:48 PM

Problem is local Fish is far too expensive. $35-49/kg is highway robbery!!!

Reason are profits and mafia methods of the local Fishing Coop.
I see the fish sold here in our local Marina three times the price sold than in Sydney where most of our catch goes.
The fish does not look fresh in the Coop's display either, probably because only very few can afford it, so I don't trust it.
If those stubborn piss heads can't put up fair prices then there is no way we can or should support them.

Fishing boots are not allowed to sell to anyone locally other than the Coop.
I remember years back when could get Flake filets $10/kg in the IGA stores from the local boots, very tasty. That only lasted 6 months and was gone forever, guess who put a stop to that.

So unfortunately it is Aldi fish for me, at least they usually declare the catchment area.