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Mass. To Crack Down On Seafood Mislabeling

Massachusetts lawmakers are proposing a bill that would come down hard on stores and restaurants that misrepresent or mislabel seafood, and would even ban the sale of one kind of fish.

The bill is expected to be filed Friday.

Businesses misrepresenting seafood could be fined $800 and have their licenses to operate suspended or revoked.

The move comes after an investigation by The Boston Globe reported restaurants and stores knowingly selling cheaper, lower-quality fish labeled as more expensive, higher-quality varieties.

DNA testing showed the mismarking of Pacific cod as the more expensive Atlantic species, and tilapia as red snapper.

The bill would also ban the sale of escolar, often mislabeled as tuna. Escolar can cause gastrointestinal distress.

This program aired on January 18, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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