The risk of confusion and misleading consumers in the cod market for the festive table of March 25 the Union of Working Consumers of Greece points out in a statement.

As the union points out “as every year, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and the National Anniversary of the Greek Revolution, on March 25, the majority of Greek households plan to consume, according to custom, the particularly popular fish of Greek cuisine, the cod (codfish) . Precisely because of its popularity, however, there is an opportunity for astute people to mislead the consumer public, offering them (at the same price) another fish which is presented as cod, but it is not. This fish is called ling and we have already established that it is in the windows of fish shops”.

EEKE reminds consumers of the following:

1 Original salted or unfatted (salted) cod comes from Atlantic, Pacific and Greenland regions. The Greek market supplies cod mainly from the Atlantic and Iceland, Finland and Norway.

2 Pickled fish called ling is usually sold alongside the original salted cod, so it is very important to check the fishmonger’s labels. Many suppliers write in smaller letters the characteristic “Ling” or “Ling” and in larger letters the region of origin, e.g. ICELAND.

3 We point out that both authentic cod and ling have bones, so mentioning this characteristic is not sufficient to avoid confusion.

4 The cod has a characteristic white line that runs along its body on both sides. If it is not visible from both sides this should not worry us because the line on one side of the fish may be hidden due to filleting.

5 We can tell the quality of good cod, like any fish, by its color. It must be white, without spots or a yellow tint and we should not choose fish with visible lesions or a yellow color.