A new report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has raised concerns about short-weighting in frozen seafood products. The agency’s assessment, conducted between 2022 and 2024, found that 36 percent of the frozen seafood it tested contained less seafood than labeled.
Short-weighting occurs when packaging overstates the actual net weight of seafood, often due to excessive water glazing. FDA standards allow for some glazing to protect product quality, but when the water weight pushes net weight below declared levels, it constitutes a violation.
Of the 28 samples tested, 10 were found to be short-weighted, with violations ranging from 2.3 to 9.9 percent. Products tested included 25 shrimp samples, two squid samples, and one tilapia sample, drawn from 12 companies across China, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The agency said samples were collected both through complaint-driven investigations and routine surveillance, with each lot containing 48 individual units.
The FDA noted that any short-weighting of 1 percent or more breaches compliance rules, signaling ongoing concerns for regulators, importers, and buyers across the seafood supply chain.