Keep It Nice – Put It on Ice! But Do You Know What Fish Is Underneath?

Australian Food Safety Week 2026 | 7–14 November

Seafood Consumers Association calls for food safety, seafood authenticity and consumer trust to be treated as connected priorities.

During Australian Food Safety Week, the FRDC-funded SafeFish program has delivered a simple, memorable reminder to seafood lovers:

“Keep it nice – put it on ice!”

It is excellent advice. Seafood is highly perishable, and maintaining appropriate temperatures throughout the supply chain is fundamental to protecting quality and food safety.

But the Seafood Consumers Association (SCA) believes there is another question every seafood consumer should be asking:

What exactly are we keeping on ice?

Is it the species advertised? Does it come from the country claimed? Has it been substituted, adulterated or misrepresented? And can the information accompanying that seafood be trusted?

These questions take us beyond traditional food hygiene and into the increasingly important world of seafood authenticity, traceability and fraud.

Food Safety Is Everybody's Business

Australian Food Safety Week 2026, coordinated by the Food Safety Information Council, has adopted the theme “Raw Food – Know the Risk.”

It is particularly relevant to seafood consumers who enjoy sushi, sashimi, oysters and other raw or minimally cooked seafood.

The national figures demonstrate why food safety deserves serious attention.

Australia experiences an estimated:

  • 4.67 million cases of foodborne illness annually.
  • 47,900 hospitalisations associated with foodborne illness each year.
  • 38 deaths annually.
  • Approximately $3 billion in economic costs.

These estimates cover all foods, not seafood specifically. Nevertheless, they demonstrate the importance of effective food safety systems.

For seafood, temperature control, hygienic handling, appropriate sourcing and accurate information are essential.

Ice can help preserve seafood quality, but it cannot correct an inaccurate label, eliminate every hazard or make unsafe seafood safe again.

The Seafood Fraud Problem: What Australian Research Reveals

In 2023, researchers published a major Australian study examining seafood labelling and species authenticity.

The research assessed 672 seafood products collected from Australian supermarkets, fishmongers and restaurants.

Among the 587 products for which mislabelling could be evaluated, 11.8% did not match their labels.

Only 25.5% of the original 672 products were labelled at species level.

The researchers identified particular concerns involving sharks, rays and snappers, as well as the widespread use of vague names that make informed purchasing decisions difficult.

More recently, research reported by Murdoch University in 2026 examined 167 cooked shark products purchased from 132 Western Australian fish-and-chip shops.

The findings were striking:

  • 56% were sold using ambiguous descriptions such as “shark”, “flake” or “fish and chips”.
  • 35% were reported as mislabelled, with the advertised species differing from the species identified through genetic testing.

These findings do not mean that 35% of all Australian seafood is mislabelled. They do, however, demonstrate a genuine problem in the products and businesses studied.

For consumers, the implications extend beyond price and value.

Different seafood species may have different allergen considerations, contaminant risks, nutritional characteristics, sustainability profiles and legal requirements.

A product can be beautifully presented, properly chilled and still be inaccurately described.

Food safety and food authenticity are not identical — but they are closely connected.

When Seafood Fraud Becomes a Food Safety Issue

Not every case of seafood fraud causes illness. However, certain forms can expose consumers to avoidable risks.

Consider four examples:

Species substitution: A fish sold under the wrong name may carry different risks, including species-specific toxins or contaminant concerns.

Undeclared ingredients: Adulteration or substitution can conceal ingredients or allergens that consumers need to avoid.

False origin or traceability information: Misleading documentation can obstruct investigations, product recalls and identification of affected batches.

Misrepresented handling or product condition: False claims about freshness, processing or storage history can conceal conditions that affect safety.

These are not simply commercial matters. They can become consumer protection and public health issues.

The Missing Link: Seafood Names and Traceability

Australia has invested considerable resources in seafood safety, inspection and regulatory systems.

Yet the Australian Fish Names Standard, AS 5300, remains generally voluntary in domestic seafood marketing, despite its importance in providing consistent fish names.

SCA believes greater consistency in seafood naming, stronger traceability and better verification of claims would complement existing food safety protections.

Consumers should not need specialist knowledge or DNA testing to establish what seafood they have purchased.

Accurate identification should be a normal expectation of a trustworthy food system.

From Food Safety to Seafood Integrity: Introducing I-CADMUS

To help explain the different ways seafood integrity can be compromised, Sea of Deception introduces the I-CADMUS framework:

  • I — Illegal
  • C — Counterfeit
  • A — Addition / Adulteration
  • D — Dilution
  • M — Misrepresentation / Mislabelling
  • U — Unreported / Unregulated / Undisclosed
  • S — Substitution

The framework helps consumers, seafood businesses, educators and regulators recognise potential fraud vulnerabilities and understand how they can be addressed.

It also reinforces a fundamental principle:

A trustworthy seafood supply chain must protect both the safety of the product and the integrity of the information accompanying it.

A New Book for a More Informed Seafood Future

These issues are explored in the newly available book:

SEA OF DECEPTION
Understanding Seafood Fraud and Rebuilding Consumer Trust
Roy D. Palmer, MBA

Drawing on more than five decades of seafood industry experience, the 518-page book examines the global seafood trade through an Australian lens.

It includes three forewords by Professor Michael A. Crawford, Arni M. Mathiesen and José Manuel Iglesias, together with real-world case studies, practical action guides, professional checklists, consumer notes, technical references, a glossary and an index.

The book is designed not merely to expose problems but to help consumers, seafood professionals, educators and policymakers understand what can be done about them.

Its central message is that consumer trust must be earned through evidence, transparency, accountability and action.

Published under the FishProf imprint, net profits support the independent consumer advocacy work of the Seafood Consumers Association.

Five Actions Every Seafood Consumer Can Take

During Australian Food Safety Week, SCA encourages Australians to:

  1. Keep seafood cold. Use clean ice or effective refrigeration and maintain safe temperatures from purchase to preparation.
  2. Ask what species you are buying. Seek specific, recognised fish names rather than accepting vague descriptions.
  3. Check origin information. Understand where your seafood comes from and question unclear claims.
  4. Handle and prepare seafood safely. Prevent cross-contamination, follow food safety advice and take particular care with raw seafood.
  5. Speak up when something seems wrong. Question misleading descriptions and report suspected food safety problems or seafood misrepresentation to the appropriate authorities.

A Message for Australian Food Safety Week

SCA congratulates SafeFish and the Food Safety Information Council for their continued commitment to improving food safety awareness.

Their work deserves strong public support.

But as we remind Australians to keep their seafood on ice, we should also encourage them to ask what is underneath that ice.

Keep it nice. Put it on ice. Know your fish. Trust the evidence.

Because safe seafood matters — and so does honest seafood.

Learn more

SafeFish: www.safefish.com.au

Seafood Consumers Association: www.seafoodconsumers.global

I-CADMUS Seafood Integrity Education: www.i-cadmus.org

Sea of Deception — available through Amazon. Search for Sea of Deception – Roy D. Palmer.

Seafood Consumers Association Ltd
Independent consumer advocacy for safer, honestly labelled and more trustworthy seafood.

Research references for the website

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