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Study: Fish Fraud Runs Wild At L.A. Sushi Restaurants

LOS ANGELES, Ca. (CBS) -- According to a new study from researchers at UCLA, what you're getting on your plate at some Los Angeles restaurants, may not be what you're paying for.

UCLA researchers teamed up with researchers from Loyola Marymount University to test the DNC of fish from several sushi restaurants in the city. Fish was tested from 2012 through 2015.

According to the study, 47 percent of the sushi was mislabeled. However, grocery stores were also examined over a year and similar findings were found there, leading researchers to believe that the mislabeling issue may start before the restaurants even get the fish.

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The researchers say that tuna was almost always properly identified and salmon was only misidentified one in 10 times. Fish like halibut and red snapper were almost always not accurately identified. Most halibut orders turned out to be flounder.

"Half of what we're buying isn't what we think it is," said Paul Barber, the senior author of the study.

Researches say that the mislabeling of fish could cause overfishing, pose unexpected health risks and keeps the customer from making the decisions they want.

The sushi restaurants involved in the study were not identified. Experts say that similar results would be expected on a nationwide scale.

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