Sainsbury’s admit ‘mislabelling’ Scottish salmon

View of Marine Harvest, the largest producer of Salmon in Scotland, based in Fort William. Picture: Andrew Smith

They made the admission after the Salmon and Trout Association (STA) filed a formal complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards over “erroneous claims” concerning the geographic origin of the fish.

The STA said fish advertised as being from “fast-flowing sea-

water locations off the isles of Skye, Lewis and Uist”, were instead from Loch Fyne, in Argyll on the Scottish mainland.

This, the STA claims, is from “less fast-flowing waters” more prone to diseases such as sea lice.

A spokesman for the supermarket admitted: “Unfortunately, there has been an error in the information on the packaging of some our Taste the Difference salmon products in recent months.

“We are now resolving this and sincerely apologise to customers, who can be reassured that there has been no impact on our industry-leading sourcing standards.”

She added: “We are very proud of our record on responsible sourcing of fish. Sainsbury’s is the country’s largest retailer of RSPCA Freedom Food Salmon and all our Scottish salmon is farmed to a number of independent standards.”

Guy Linley-Adams, solicitor to the STA aquaculture campaign, welcomed the admission by Sainsbury’s, and invited supermarket bosses to now “enter into a discussion about sourcing standards of farmed salmon”.

He said: “The STA’s complaint shows that it is time for the supermarkets to take responsibility for what they are selling and how they market it.

“This complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards is about Sainsbury’s and the claims made on its packaging and on its website. Quite apart from issues of identifying exactly where its farmed salmon comes from, the STA believes Sainsbury’s must substantiate its ‘responsible sourcing’ assertions with hard facts about named farms and not just general assurances. Without this, discerning consumers may not have confidence in what they are being asked to buy.”

He added: “All the producers and supermarkets put a premium on salmon sourced from the Hebrides. These were marketed as being from fast-flowing seawaters off Skye, Lewis and Uist. But they were stamped as being from Loch Fyne, which has a reputation for sea lice.”

Hughie Campbell Adamson, chairman of STA Scotland, said: “Supermarkets have a duty to be honest and transparent about the food they sell. Farmed salmon, grown in open-net marine cages, can come at a heavy environmental cost, not least in its impact on wild salmon and sea trout.”