--- title: Food Fraud: Half of Sushi Mislabeled in LA Restaurants description: Sushi restaurants in Los Angeles mislabel the type of fish in their products nearly half of the time, according to new research canonical: https://time.com/4633426/fake-sushi-food-fraud/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-12T21:06:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:42:29.235Z article:section: Health og:title: Sushi in L.A. Is Mislabeled Nearly Half the Time, Says Study og:description: It's part of the growing issue of food fraud og:url: https://time.com/4633426/fake-sushi-food-fraud/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sushi in L.A. Is Mislabeled Nearly Half the Time, Says Study twitter:description: It's part of the growing issue of food fraud twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Sushi in L.A. Is Mislabeled Nearly 50% of the Time, Says Study > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 12, 2017 9:06 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jan 12, 2017 9:06 PM UTC Sushi restaurants in Los Angeles mislabel the type of fish in their products nearly half of the time, according to the [latest research](http://time.com/4623413/growing-fight-food-fraud/) to show fraud in marketing of food products. Researchers behind the study, published in the journal _Conservation Biology,_ tested the DNA of fish at 26 Los Angeles sushi restaurants between 2012 and 2015 and found that 47% of sushi was mislabeled. Some types of fish were mislabeled more than others. Tuna, for instance, was never mislabeled and salmon was labeled correctly 90% of the time. Red snapper and halibut on the other hand were never labeled accurately in the samples collected. **Read More:** [The Growing Fight Against Food Fraud](http://time.com/4623413/growing-fight-food-fraud/) Some of the mislabeling may be accidental but much of it was likely done intentionally to save money by providing customers with a cheaper type of fish than they thought they were buying, says study author Paul Barber, a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. Barber notes that restaurants may be buying mislabeled fish rather than doing the mislabeling themselves. “If we don’t have accurate information on what we’re buying, we can’t make informed choices,” Barber said. “The amount of mislabeling is so high and consistent, one has to think that even the restaurants are being duped.” [Regulations](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/09/2016-29324/magnuson-stevens-fishery-conservation-and-management-act-seafood-import-monitoring-program) that went into effect earlier this month provide for monitoring of the seafood industry to the [annoyance](http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2017/01/09/seafood-groups-sue-over-obama-fish-fraud-rule/) of the industry. [Food fraud](http://time.com/4623413/growing-fight-food-fraud/) more broadly has drawn increased attention in recent years as fraudulent products have resulted in health problems and even death. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4633426/fake-sushi-food-fraud/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4633426/fake-sushi-food-fraud/"},"headline":"Sushi in L.A. 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