DNA tests have proved that there’s nothing fishy going on at Cheltenham chippy Simpsons.
The fish and chip shop on Priors Road, crowned best independent chip shop in the UK in 2016, is also among the top in the country when it comes to food labelling.
The DNA tests have shown that fish and chip shops without an MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certificate are five times more likely to serve the wrong species to their customers.
George Clark, MSC Senior Commercial Manager for the UK said that British consumers are more savvy than ever when it comes to food provenance, and added that they want to know exactly what is in their food and where it has come from.
He said: “The DNA results are clear, your Friday night takeaway is far more likely to be the fish you think you’ve bought if it’s from an MSC certified shop such as Simpsons. It’ll also be sustainable, responsibly caught and fully traceable. Customers of MSC chippies like Simpsons can trust that they are getting exactly what they’ve paid for. ”
The overall results indicate an improvement in mislabelling in the industry.
In 2014, the consumer organisation Which? conducted a study of fish and chip shops in conjunction with the Institute of Global Food Security (IGFS), Queen’s University Belfast.
Their Stop Food Fraud campaign found that one in six (16 per cent) fish were mislabelled.
The MSC tests also show that British chippies are ahead of the global restaurant mislabelling rate of 30 per cent.
Owner of Simpsons, James Ritchie, said: “You simply can't guarantee being sustainable without being able to trace the journey of your food, this is why we were one of the earlier shops to gain MSC certification, not just doing our bit for the ocean but being able to show to our customers how much we care.
"MSC being able to prove the validity of their claims with this research just proves the great work they're doing. This ensures we can stay here serving fantastic fish and chips for years to come.”