This year for Christmas dinner it is better not to eat caviar or sturgeon. There is a very specific reason and it is very important.
For Christmas dinner and lunch Caviar and sturgeon often come to the table as juicy and luxurious foods that fit perfectly into the party atmosphere. But this year There is a very good reason not to buy them.
If you buy a food, it is good Determine the origin and how it gets to market. To make an ethical and informed purchase, you need to know certain elements.
Recently, researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin conducted studies that have caused consternation, to say the least. Their investigation began with the analysis of 149 caviar and sturgeon samples from Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Ukraine and yielded a serious discovery.
One occurs Violation of applicable regulations about the production and sale of these products. 21% of the samples analyzed came from wild sturgeon. The violation concerns CITES trade and labeling regulations. Up to 32% had misleading labeling that did not accurately identify its origin, for example by portraying a sturgeon as wild when it was actually aquacultured.
Caviar and sturgeon: A large portion is illegal in Europe
European standards in force since the late 1990s require a sale only caviar and sturgeon from aquaculture. But they are not always completely respected.
Many illegal practices dominate the market and it is not always easy to detect the deception. CITESor the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, seeks to protect the only 4 species of sturgeon found in Europe. These are the Beluga or Huso Huso, the Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, then there is the starry Acipenser and the Acipenser rhutenus, which live in the Black Sea and the lower Danube.
Investigations have shown a violation of the regulations on caviar fishing and trade – buttalapasta.it
Also in terms of labeling, the regulations that came into force in 2000 are precise and detailed and require clear and transparent traceability of the product. Through genetic analysis of the samples examined, the researchers managed to uncover the widespread irregularities. In most cases, the CITES rules are not adhered to.
Local fishermen are not supported to avoid this for the following reasons desperate search for profit, to collect caviar or fish for wild sturgeon. This can also happen because The controls are not strong and strict and research like that carried out at the Berlin Institute is very expensive and is therefore rarely carried out.
Knowing the existence of these irregularities certainly makes you think and enables you to do so Decide whether you want to buy products of dubious and illegal origin or avoid them to expand a market that causes serious damage to the environment.