A fish that has been identified and bar coded to allow FDA to fight fraud is examined by Jonathan Deeds, Ph.D., an FDA fish toxicologist, (left), and Jeffrey Williams, Ph.D., who is in charge of the Smithsonian division where fish that are bar coded by FDA scientists are stored. After FDA scientists take samples of fish, identify their species through DNA tests and assign a bar code, the fish are stored long term in tanks of ethanol at the Smithsonian Division of Fisheries. FDA is in the midst of a massive project aimed at thwarting species substitution, in which consumers pay for one kind of fish but are sold another kind. FDA scientists store fish samples in the Smithsonian facility after taking DNA samples that allow them to create bar codes identifying individual species of fish.

For more information, read this FDA Consumer Update:

What Kind of Fish Is That?

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