Monday, May 7, 2007

Corporate social responsibility: cheats!

"Leading supermarkets and a top London store were among retailers yesterday identified as misleading consumers after selling "wild" fish that in reality was farmed, while others were criticised for failing to provide accurate labels on how and where their fish was produced.

Scientific tests by the Food Standards Agency on premium-priced fish sold by Sainsbury's, Asda and Harrods revealed that some of the animals were from farms and had not been wild. The snapshot survey in 15 local authority areas across Britain found that 15% of supposedly wild salmon, 11% of sea bream and 10% of sea bass were farmed.

Consumers typically pay double the retail price for wild fish, reputed to have health benefits as well as a better flavour.

The tests were done on fish bought anonymously at supermarkets, fishmongers, fish auctions and specialist food shops. Oil extracted from the samples, as part of a pioneering testing regime, revealed whether the fish were wild-caught or had been farmed. "

The corporations implicated in the scandal have "serious" corporate social responsibility programs, which they advertize freely to get us to trust them. R

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