Wednesday, 8 January 2014

Smoked Scottish Salmon - or is it?

We have a very fishy Scottish parliament - Our Scottish parliamentary leader is  Alec Salmond and his deputy is Nicola Sturgeon.
Alec Salmond has recently struck a deal with the Chinese to supply them with huge amounts of Scottish salmon.
However - According to Private Eye, we cant produce enough to fulfill the deal.
So the industry goes clever with some very fishy labeling with - it seems - the full approval of whoever it is who sanctions these things.
Below are two sentences with the 3 same words - but in different orders

1. Smoked Scottish Salmon
2. Scottish Smoked salmon

Apparently - according to the officials -
The first means Scottish salmon smoked in Scotland
The second means - salmon from anywhere in the world - smoked in Scotland

I was scandalised when I heard this. I had recently bought a packet of  - what I thought - was Scottish (smoked) salmon from Tesco
My husband got it out of the fridge to examine it.
At first glance the assumption was it was Scottish  - as there was a  St Andrews flag on the front.
It called itself  - Tesco - Smoked salmon Slices.
To read further, my husband had to put his reading glasses on and search very carefully to find some mention of source
Finally he found this on the back

Farmed in Scotland (B) , Norway (C)
For country of origin see the letter in the use by box on the front of the pack.

So turning over to the front we found a letter B
Therefore this packet was salmon from Scotland

I would like to know - if it had been a C - salmon from Norway - would there still have been a Scottish flag on the front?

It may be legal - but I think it is a wicked deception. It is not honest.
Not that I have anything against Norwegian salmon.





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