Harrods and Fortnum & Mason accused of ‘misleading’ customers with fish labels

Harrods and Fortnum & Mason have been accused of breaching fish labelling laws at their luxury stores in London.

Fortnum & Mason changed labelling last week after campaigners alleged it was selling “secret smokehouse salmon” with no details on the country of origin or whether it was farmed or wild.

A complaint was made to the store after Scamon Scotland made an inspection on World Fisheries Day last Thursday, and the next day it ditched “secret” from the label to inform customers the product was farmed in Scotland.

Harrods was also alleged to have mislabelled three salmon products.

Don Staniford, of Scamon Scotland, claimed: “Scottish salmon is a welfare nightmare that should be avoided. Yet retailers are flouting fish labelling laws and misleading consumers. The Competition and Markets Authority must now intervene to clamp down on illegal fish labelling by retailers.

“Shoppers should ask where the salmon in supermarkets comes from and how it is farmed.”

Harrods said products with labelling issues that were flagged to staff were taken off sale while signs were updated. The shop then realised some products were not compliant with fish labelling regulations as they did not specify the state of origin.

These products were removed from sale until the labels had been accurately updated. Products were returned to sale on Monday.

The shop said: “Harrods addressed concerns as soon as they were raised with our retail team. All highlighted labels have now been reviewed and updated and are compliant with regulations.”

In March, Harrods and Fortnum & Mason were investigated by council officials following previous complaints over salmon labelling, after which Fortnum & Mason also changed its labelling.