In supermarkets, it is common to see frozen whole fish or fillets in generic bags without a traceability system that allows us to obtain more information about all the stages that the product went through from its origin to the place where it is displayed for sale.
According to the marketer Daniel Valles, the consumer cannot know with certainty what product it is, where it comes from, or who sells it, which may represent a health risk and a delay compared to other products such as beef, chicken or eggs in which there is a culture on the part of the consumer to demand traceability.
Valles has been working in the seafood sector for 16 years, and currently heads Amor a Mar, a restaurant and marketer.
In an interview with Causa Natura Media, Valles pointed out that it is important for consumers to demand traceability from supermarkets so that they can consume these products responsibly.
*This interview has been edited for synthesis and better reading.
— How advanced is traceability in supermarkets?
There is a section in the supermarket where there are vacuum-packed fillets of tilapia or salmon that don't provide information. Or there are fillets that they put it in trays and package it, where the only information that comes is what the supermarket gives you as a description of the product, its price, its preferred consumption, but it doesn't provide any information about traceability.
I don't know why generic plastic bags are allowed to be sold with something that you don't know which company is responsible, you don't know where it comes from, you don't know if it's what they say it is.
I understand that this steak comes in a larger package and that's where the information will come, the supermarket knows that, but the everyday end consumer has no idea about that information.
— What is the consumer's attitude to this situation?
If you ask the average Mexican what brand of salmon they consume, no one would know, they would tell you HEB, Soriana or Costco but they are not supermarket brands. They don't know the brand of what they are eating and what they are giving to their children.
We're buying blindly. I don't know why so much freedom is allowed on this subject and that it also lends itself to confusion on the part of the final consumer.
— Why is traceability important?
I ask people, 'When did you buy an egg without knowing where it came from or an unbranded ham? ' , that doesn't happen in other products and why in fish it does.
If you get sick when you consume it, who do you hold responsible?
Traceability is very great when there is a possible poisoning or health outbreak, because that way you can identify the source and close the place down, and people have the right to know who did it wrong, who didn't have the right practices to trigger an epidemic.
Also, as consumers, it would help to know what practices they have when it comes to producing it, for example, to know if it is a crop in the ocean or in a pool, or if they put hormones or antibiotics in it. Whereas in the case of wild or wild fishing, know what fishing art or methods were used. With this we can lean towards sustainability and decide.
— How does traceability influence the quality of the fish that is consumed?
I think that at least the one who is more informed as a consumer allows you to have an idea of the seasons to consume fish and this brings you a little closer to the sea.
The problem is that people want to go to a supermarket and that the whole sea is dead waiting to see what I want and what I take home, so in the end you are likely to take a poor quality product, because even if it is frozen over time, the protein degrades.
At Amor a Mar we have a responsible consumption model where we communicate with our customers to order fish in advance, you order and it will arrive days later. This is part of the game of freshness and temporality. All in order to ensure and respect the quality of the product.
— How could traceability be required for these products from supermarkets?
We need to be more aware consumers and ask for more information if it's not there in sight. It is your responsibility as a consumer to request that they show you the packaging data to know the name of the company from which you are buying your product. The change will not come from them, the change will come when we as consumers question them, and so it is moving forward.
And supermarkets are very intelligent, they are not going to give more than what the consumer demands of them. In other words, the price must be justified by demand, you need to ensure that the niche market will pay for it. If the consumer demands products of higher quality and traceability, they will put it on their shelf.
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