The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "seafood" ...
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Fishy Business
Boston Globe reporters Jenn Abelson and Beth Daley captured the attention of consumers across the nation with their 2011 “Fishy Business” series, which revealed widespread mislabeling of seafood at restaurants. DNA testing commissioned by the Globe showed diners frequently – and unwittingly -- overpaid for less desirable species. In 2012, the Globe produced two more “Fishy Business” installments to expand and follow up on the initial investigation. First, Abelson spent several months examining how fish processors add water to seafood to increase profits. The Globe hired an independent lab to conduct an analysis of 43 fish samples collected from supermarkets across Massachusetts. The results, presented in a multimedia package in September 2012, showed consumers often pay for excess water when they buy scallops and frozen fish. About 1 in 5 of the samples weighed less than what was stated on packages. The testing also showed 66 percent of the fish from one supplier had too much ice. The Globe also wanted to verify restaurants and wholesalers had changed their ways following the newspaper’s 2011 investigation and resulting calls for reform. Daley and Abelson returned to 58 restaurants that served the wrong fish in 2011 to collect new samples. DNA tests showed 76 percent did not match what restaurants advertised on their menus. The resulting third installment of “Fishy Business,” published in December 2012, detailed these findings. In addition, Abelson and Daley explained how accountability is lost in the fish supply chain by investigating a major wholesaler that provided mislabeled fish to some of the region’s best-known restaurants.
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Hot Trucks
Amidst widespread reports of food safety recalls and food borne illness outbreak, WTHR's "Hot Trucks" exposed a gaping hole in the safety net of our nation's food supply. The 6-month investigation revealed tons of meat, seafood, dairy products, produce, and other perishable food items are transported to grocery stores and restaurants every day under unsafe and unsanitary conditions that pose a serious health threat to millions of Americans.
Tags: Food Safety
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A Life at Sea, A Life at Risk
In one of the most dangerous occupations in America, the fishing industry is facing government regulations which obstruct the industry and make it more dangerous. This series also focuses on the economic impact, which extends far beyond the sea to the seafood that is reaching consumers. Furthermore, the challenges facing the US fishing industry are foreign competition and changes in trends and technology.
Tags: fishing; New Jersey; safety; ocean; sea; seafood; economy; regulations; fisheries
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Big Fish in a Big Pond
"An investigative profile of Frank Dulcich's Pacific Seafood Group, which reavealed a crippling monopoly that has overtaken the West Coast seafood business, affecting fishermen, smaller seafood buyers, the prices consumers pay for wild seafood and the availability of the product"
Tags: seafood business
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The Mercury Menace
The reporters investigated supermarkets throughout the Chicago area that routinely sell seafood highly contaminated with mercury, a toxic metal that can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems in adults. The Tribune commissioned mercury testing of random samples of fish from markets across Chicago.
Tags: mercury; fish; seafood; toxic; food regulations; learning disabilities; FDA
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The Mercury Menace
The authors investigated supermarkets throughout the Chicago area that are routinely selling seafood that is highly contaminated with mercury, a toxic metal that can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems in adults. The Tribune commissioned mercury testing of random samples of fish from markets across Chicago.
Tags: mercury; fish; seafood; toxic; food regulations; learning disabilities; FDA
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America's Fish: Fair or foul -- In tests of fish across the U.S., we found some room for improvement
A Consumer Reports examination of the nation's supermarket seafood counters found that "although most seafood was safe to eat, there were enough exceptions to suggest that the seafood industry has considerable room for improvement -- and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees most seafood-safety matters, is falling short in key areas." Half of the swordfish samples tested exceeded the "action level," for methylmercury, which can harm the nervous system. The magazine advises pregnant women and young children not to eat swordfish or shark. It also found that one in eight samples of tuna had unacceptable levels of histamine, a chemical that can cause hives and other reactions.
Tags: fish; food safety; seafood; swordfish; spoilage; e. coli; histamine; methylmercury; mercury; tuna; shellfish; Food and Drug Administration; FDA
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Feeding the World, poisoning the planet
In just the past two decades, industrialization, population growth and intense use of chemical fertilizers have doubled the amount of nitrogen in circulation among living things...And this sudden explosion of nitrogen has meant mounting worldwide environmental problems that promise to soon get worse and, some scientists predict, to reach the point of calamity." Some examples: More frequent algae blooms (red tides) kill fish and other sea life in coastal waters, invasive plants take over prairies in Minnesota, acid rain in the Blue Ride Mountains, visibility impaired in waters near the Great Barrier Reef, forest mushrooms disappear in Holland.
Tags: nitrogen; environment; water; red tide; algae; seafood; sewage; fishing; "dead zones"; praires; fertilizer; ammonia; farming; sea grass; Baltic; blue crabs; sea grass; agriculture; scallops; monk seals; sea lions; shrimp; hogs; Lake Pontchartrain
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Meat Hook
KWTV-TV investigation uncovered illegal tactics used by door-to-door sales representatives. The representatives suckered consumers into paying outrageous prices for sub par steaks, seafood and chicken. The investigation found a pattern of abused by the industry throughout the Midwest.
Tags: TAPE; Heath department; City regulators
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Sick of Mean Cuisine
This U.S. News & World Report story exposed practices used by food importers to circumvent oversight and regulation for food products, particularly fresh and frozen seafood, entering the U.S. through air and seaports.
Tags: federal testing; tainted foods; FDA