Codswallop as fraud fish causing a stink

Some fish and chip shops in the West Midlands are trying pass off cheaper Vietnamese catfish fillets as cod, it emerged today.

Trading standards officers are investigating reports that some shops in the region are selling Vietnamese cobbler labelled as the traditional British fish shop favourite. The Vietnamese cobbler, called pangasius hypophthalmus, is one of 20 types of catfish produced in Vietnam for 15 years. It is frozen and exported to Britain, where it is also sold as panga, basa and tra.

The wholesale price of river cobbler is around £5 per kg compared with £11.75 per kg for cod.

And although trading standards insist there is nothing wrong with the quality of the fish, officials said shops selling the fillet would have to market it properly. The Cat Hill Fish Bar in Bromsgrove has already been forced to pay £4,000 plus costs for charges brought under the Food Safety Act.

Today it emerged investigations are continuing into complaints against a chip shop in Kidderminster and another in Bromsgrove.

John Dell, head of enforcement at Worcestershire Trading Standards, said: "We discovered the fraud after a woman contacted us convinced that the fish she had been served wasn't cod.

"We conducted tests and eventually found it was pangasius. There is nothing wrong with this fish and it is widely available here in supermarkets and restaurants..

"But if pangasius is sold, it has to be labelled as such – it cannot just be substituted for cod."

In Dudley, principal trading standards officer Laura Fisher said today: "We are very aware of the fact there is the potential for someone to choose to do this. We are undertaking routine sampling."

The National Federation of Fish Friers said it was angry that the reputation of its 8,000 members was being tarnished by the scam.

President Douglas Roxburgh said: "The authorities have got to hand out heavier fines. I'd have said it should be £10,000 at least to set an example."