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State finds more grouper impostors
By STEPHEN NOHLGREN
Published January 30, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Seventeen of 24 Tampa Bay area restaurants tested last year by the Florida Attorney General's Office advertised grouper on menus but served some other fish.
Sandi Copes, press secretary for Attorney General Bill McCollum, did not name the restaurants but said Monday that a criminal investigation into grouper substitution is ongoing.
The investigation, which followed a St. Petersburg Times story about fake grouper, first came to light in November, after the state subpoenaed invoices and other documents from more than a dozen restaurants.
Monday was the first time the Attorney General's Office revealed the extent of its DNA sampling.
Unrelated to the attorney general's investigation, it turns out that the grouper troubles have reached the very cafeteria where state regulators, legislators and lobbyists hobnob over fried chicken and corn bread.
Eatz Capital Cafe was cited Friday, accused of selling a $6.59 grouper sandwich that turned out to be an Asian catfish called ponga.
A popular gathering spot in the busy Capitol, Eatz is one floor below the governor's office. It specializes in deli-style sandwiches, Southern fare and runs a fish special on Fridays.
Two weeks ago, the Florida Department of Agriculture received a tip that Eatz was serving ponga, which wholesales for $2 to $3 a pound.
Frozen grouper imported from Asia and South America can wholesale for $3.50 to $5 a pound. Fresh Florida grouper, caught in the Gulf of Mexico, wholesales for $10 a pound or more.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/30/State/State_finds_more_grou.shtml
By STEPHEN NOHLGREN
Published January 30, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Seventeen of 24 Tampa Bay area restaurants tested last year by the Florida Attorney General's Office advertised grouper on menus but served some other fish.
Sandi Copes, press secretary for Attorney General Bill McCollum, did not name the restaurants but said Monday that a criminal investigation into grouper substitution is ongoing.
The investigation, which followed a St. Petersburg Times story about fake grouper, first came to light in November, after the state subpoenaed invoices and other documents from more than a dozen restaurants.
Monday was the first time the Attorney General's Office revealed the extent of its DNA sampling.
Unrelated to the attorney general's investigation, it turns out that the grouper troubles have reached the very cafeteria where state regulators, legislators and lobbyists hobnob over fried chicken and corn bread.
Eatz Capital Cafe was cited Friday, accused of selling a $6.59 grouper sandwich that turned out to be an Asian catfish called ponga.
A popular gathering spot in the busy Capitol, Eatz is one floor below the governor's office. It specializes in deli-style sandwiches, Southern fare and runs a fish special on Fridays.
Two weeks ago, the Florida Department of Agriculture received a tip that Eatz was serving ponga, which wholesales for $2 to $3 a pound.
Frozen grouper imported from Asia and South America can wholesale for $3.50 to $5 a pound. Fresh Florida grouper, caught in the Gulf of Mexico, wholesales for $10 a pound or more.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/30/State/State_finds_more_grou.shtml
