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. 2022 Jun 28:10:e13486.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.13486. eCollection 2022.

Public awareness of seafood mislabeling

Savannah J Ryburn  1 , Wilker M Ballantine  2 , Florencia M Loncan  2 , Olivia G Manning  2 , Meggan A Alston  2 , Blaire Steinwand  2   3 , John F Bruno  2
Affiliations

Public awareness of seafood mislabeling

Savannah J Ryburn et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

A substantial portion of seafood is mislabeled, causing significant impacts to human health, the environment, the economy, and society. Despite the large scientific literature documenting seafood mislabeling the public's awareness of seafood mislabeling is unknown. We conducted an online survey to assess the public's awareness and perceptions of seafood mislabeling. Of the 1,216 respondents, 38% had never heard of seafood mislabeling and 49% were only 'vaguely familiar' with it. After being provided the definition of seafood mislabeling 95% had some degree of concern. Respondents were the most concerned about environmental impacts caused by seafood mislabeling and the least concerned about the social justice implications. Respondents who were also more concerned and familiar with seafood mislabeling stated that they would be more likely to purchase seafood from a vendor where the labeling was independently verified.

Keywords: Public awareness; Seafood mislabeling; Survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

John F. Bruno is an Academic Editor for PeerJ.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. How often respondents consume seafood.
Figure includes all responses (n = 1,216).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Where the respondents typically purchase seafood.
Respondents were told to check all that apply. Figure includes all responses (n = 1,216).
Figure 3
Figure 3. The public’s response to the questions: “How concerned are you about seafood mislabeling?” (i.e., general concern) and “Which issues related to mislabeling concern you?”.
The percentages on the left side of the figure include responses for both “Not at all concerned” and “Slightly concerned” while the percentages on the right include responses for “Very concerned” and “Extremely concerned”. The percentages in the middle include responses for “Moderately concerned”. Figure includes all responses (n = 1,216).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Distribution of survey respondents based on their familiarity with seafood mislabeling in relation to how concerned they were with seafood mislabeling.
Numbers overlayed on the figure represent the number of respondents within each category. Figure includes all responses (n = 1,216).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Distribution of survey respondents based on their likelihood of preferentially purchasing seafood from a restaurant or retailer where the labeling is independently verified in relation to (A) how concerned they were with seafood mislabeling or (B) how familiar they were with seafood mislabeling.
Numbers overlayed on the figures represent the number of respondents within each category. Each figure includes all responses (n = 1,216).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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