Scottish smoked salmon fraudulently sold in US

A WHISTLE blower has claimed tonnes of premium “Scottish” smoked salmon sold in the US actually came from Norway and Chile.

There has been allegations that "Scottish" Salmon was actually from Norway and Chile. Picture: PA

New Jersey-based Denise Chadwick said she was sacked from the St James Smokehouse the day after warning the company’s owner that he could face jail for passing off lower-priced imports for the genuine article.

Ms Chadwick, 60, has given the US district court in Newark emails she sent to the Brendan Maher, owner of the Miami-based company which uses the services of the award-winning St James Smokehouse in Annan, Dumfriesshire.

According to Undercurrent, a news website for the seafood industry, one states: “I think that last time I ordered a full truck from Scotland for smoking in Annan was in August last year and since then I have been buying Norwegian except for when I was instructed to buy Scottish when we had visitors - for example when the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) came to inspect the factory in Scotland and I had to make sure there was only Scottish salmon on the premises.”

Aaron Freiwald, Ms Chadwick’s lawyer said his client’s job was to gauge the price of salmon in the international market and to purchase bulk quantities for sale in the US. While the per-pound price varies, Scottish salmon typically sells for double the price of Chilean salmon, Mr Freiwald said.

Ms Chadwick is suing the US company under the state of New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act claiming that her employers retaliated against her when she questioned practices that she alleged could be in violation of federal seafood safety and marketing rules.

She claims invoices to retailers were deliberately mislabelled to suggest they were from Scotland.

Lawyers for the company deny the allegations.

A statement from Christopher M. David, of Miami-based Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph PL, reads: “The allegations asserted by Ms. Chadwick are false and without any factual support. St. James does not conduct its operations in the manner claimed and will vigorously defend these spurious claims.

“Ms Chadwick’s false e-mail was an effort to avoid the consequences of her failure to perform her job responsibilities and the previously announced pending termination.

“Indeed, Mr. Maher advised Ms. Chadwick in February of 2014 that her services would no longer be needed due to her failure to perform her services adequately.

“The allegations related to the sale of mis-labeled salmon are false and St. James is already providing documentation to its customers demonstrating the validity of the product provided. We are confident that our valued customers will see this lawsuit for what it is—a transparent effort by Ms. Chadwick to profit from her just termination.”

Legal remedies in such cases can include reinstatement and compensation.