Your mackerel is FAKE! Outrage as Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s and Lidl sell ‘tinned mackerel’ that’s an entirely different fish

Famously, mackerel is considered one of the healthiest fish you can eat because it’s packed with brain-boosting omega-3s. 

But an investigation has revealed that many tinned ‘mackerel’ products, stocked by the likes of Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Tesco no longer contain any of the oily fish. 

Tinned fish supergiant Princes switched its branded mackerel range to Chilean jack mackerel last year – which, despite having a similar name, is an entirely different fish. 

Yet UK retailers continue to sell ‘jack mackerel’ products alongside true mackerel, under signs that conflate the two very different products. 

Jack mackerel belongs to the Carangidae family, while true mackerel belongs to the Scombridae family. 

But the real clencher for health-conscious consumers is the nutritional quality. Prince’s jack mackerel contains half as much omega-3 as true mackerel. 

‘Tinned fish is an affordable and convenient way for households to add important nutrients to their diets and eat the recommended two portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily. 

‘It’s a real concern when manufacturers quietly downgrade everyday staples like these as shoppers can end up paying the same price for a product that delivers significantly less nutritional value,’ Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy said. 

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for everything from heart health – helping to remove harmful fats from the blood while increasing levels of good cholesterol – to dementia prevention. 

One study found that people who regularly eat oily fish have healthier blood vessels and lower blood pressure, which may help protect against dementia.

Another found that those who have higher levels of omega-3 in their blood perform better on thinking tests. 

Per 100mg mackerel provides the biggest dose of omega-3 as oily fish goes, followed by sardines and salmon. 

Demand for tinned fish has soared over the last two years, with sales up nearly a fifth – as health-conscious consumers look to make money-savvy choices. 

But consumers have started to notice the difference, complaining about changes in taste and texture, including less oily fish. 

‘It smells rather metallic…like cheap rubbish tuna,’ canned seafood reviewer Marcus Ansell said in a recent video posted to his 650,000 Instagram followers. 

The swap was largely pushed by concerns over sustainability, with Waitrose halting sales of fresh, chilled and frozen true mackerel in April, over overfishing concerns. 

Canned products are gradually being phased out as stocks last. 

Lidl, meanwhile, has been transitioning to sustainably sourced Chilean jack mackerel – which it sells under signs reading simply mackerel. 

And despite ‘jack mackerel’ being roughly a third cheaper than true mackerel, food giants like Tesco continue to sell the substitute fish at similar prices, with a discrepancy of just 20p.  

The mackerel catch in the North East Atlantic has remained 39 per cent higher than the limit advised by scientists for over 15 years. 

The fishery no longer owns a Marine Stewardship Council certification,  a sustainability badge required by many major retailers. 

Chilean jack mackerel, however, is certified. 

Until last year, the faux-mackerel was not allowed to be labelled ‘jack mackerel’, but weeks after Princes launched its new tins, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs changed its rules to permit the new labelling. 

But the move has sparked outrage among critics, who say the new rules blur the distinction between true mackerel and jack mackerel, potentially catfishing consumers 

‘Consumers will be suffering because pure mackerel is a much better species to eat than jack mackerel,’ Stewart Harper, former managing director of North Atlantic Fishing Company, told the Financial Times.