China rules rainbow trout can now be sold as salmon, in attempt to reduce counterfeit fish sales

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Something decidedly fishy is going on in China where the government has ruled that rainbow trout can now be labelled and sold as salmon.

The new rules have been introduced following reports that the freshwater-dwelling rainbow trout has for years been labelled as salmon.

Once filleted the meat from the two species look very similar, even though their habitats and outward appearances are different.

But instead of cracking down on the fraud, the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA), which falls under the Chinese ministry of agriculture, has instead decided the best solution would be to legitimise it.

The move will see salmon become the “umbrella name of the salmonidae fish”. This reclassification would mean that in addition to trout being sold as salmon, so too could char, grayling and the freshwater whitefish.

The move comes after Chinese state media revealed CCTV showing that up to a third of fish sold to customers believing they were purchasing salmon, was in fact rainbow trout from Qinghai province – a central mountainous region full of lakes.

But consumers in China are not entirely happy, with some expressing concerns that trout are more prone to harbouring parasites, and many saying they have been misled.

On social media platform Weibo, #RainbowTroutBecomesSalmon has been trending as people voice their anger and concerns.

The China Fisheries Association has already made efforts to reassure fish-eaters, saying the farmed rainbow trout are bred in quarantined conditions.

“Whether salmon has parasites does not depend on whether it is bred in sea water or fresh water,” it said, according to SalmonBusiness.com.

Announcing the new designation for trout, CAPPMA also said it will apply strict rules to control worms in salmon, asking restaurants and producers to clearly label fish products, so that consumers know where the fish comes from and, ironically, their precise species.