Italy is among the top countries for the import and consumption of shark products. For most of them it is a food fraud, because consumers do not realize that they are buying and consuming shark meat.
The SafeSharks project, created by WWF, collected data to create an inventory of products and retailers. It showed that only 35% of fish shops have labels with the scientific name and/or common name of the shark, while no label is displayed in markets.
In addition, food fraud is fuelled by the fact that sharks, very often, are marketed without skin or in slices and fillets, and it is therefore difficult for the consumer to realize what he is really buying. The blue shark or verdesca (Prionace glauca), for example, is one of the subjects most exposed to this fraud because it is often sold as swordfish.
To buy consciously you need to buy products that we have a complete label. By law the fish must be labelled, identifiable and traceable.
