What’s in that lobster roll at your favorite sushi restaurant? If it isn’t lobster, it’s fraud.
A “truth-in-menu” investigation by the San Diego City Attorney’s Office has led to criminal convictions against restaurants in Carmel Mountain Ranch, El Cerrito, Hillcrest, North Park, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Rancho Penasquitos and Tierrasanta, the office said Monday.
Investigators with its Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit bought “lobster rolls” from various sushi San Diego restaurants San Diego, and sent them to a laboratory for DNA testing.
The lab confirmed the lack of lobster in any of the rolls.
Operators of these restaurants pleaded guilty between April and October:
- Little Tokyo, 11640 Carmel Mountain Road #122
- Edamami Sushi & Roll, 5950 Santo Road, #G
- Wonderful Sushi, 13185-3 Black Mountain Road
- Ikiru Sushi, 2850 Womble Road, #105
- OB Sushi Sushi, 4967 Newport Ave.
- Riki Sushi, 3930 30th St.
- Wonderful Sushi, 1288 University Ave.
- RB Sushi 2, 5973 El Cajon Blvd.
“The testing revealed the substitution of various types of less-expensive seafood such as crawfish or pollack,” said a statement. “Follow-up restaurant inspections by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the city’s investigator found no lobster in any of the businesses.”
City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said he was disappointed with the food fraud.
“The public should be able to count on truthful advertising from anyone doing business in San Diego,” Goldsmith said. “Honest customer service is not only required by law, it is good business. Our office will continue to prosecute businesses that lie to their consumers.”
The undisclosed substitution of the cheaper seafood is a criminal violation of California law that prohibits the adulteration of food and the false advertising or misbranding of food items.
Along with fines, California law also requires the offending businesses to reimburse all of the investigation costs. The eight sushi restaurants paid a combined $14,000 in fines and more than $5,000 to reimburse investigative costs.
Each convicted business changed its menu and other advertising to reflect the true content of the seafood rolls.
A 2013 seafood fraud report by Oceana found that Los Angeles and Orange County had the highest national seafood substitution rates at 52 percent.
The City Attorney’s Office said it isn’t always clear if the substitution happens at the restaurant level, the seafood distribution level or elsewhere. But the San Diego probe found the San Diego substitution occurred at the restaurant level.
The Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit of the San Diego City Attorney’s Office prosecutes violations of law that arise from consumer transactions within the City of San Diego and has a Consumer Help Line at (619) 533-5600.
A complaint form may also be found online.
