KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Award winning Chef Michael Smith said an
NBC Action News investigation into fish substitutions at Kansas City restaurants “clearly misrepresented” the switch from the ordered grouper at his upscale eatery to a wild striped bass.
Watch the NBC Action News Investigation by Clicking on the Media Player to the RightDuring a health department sweep of all the Kansas City restaurants that failed our DNA test, inspectors confirmed many substitutions besides Smith’s and identified one restaurant serving fake versions of multiple menu items.
In a letter to NBC Action News blasting the coverage, Smith claimed the Kansas City Health Department would be “posting a report basically exonerating me of any wrong doing.”
“We aren’t exonerating,” says KCMO Health Department spokesman Jeff Hershberger who confirms inspectors examined Smith’s restaurant.
“The (health department) report says the manager acknowledged this has happened,” Hershberger said about the fish substitution uncovered by our DNA test. “Whether it is intentional or not, if it deceives the consumer, it is a violation.”
In March, NBC Action News investigators ordered grouper or red snapper at 20 metro restaurants.
Samples from each restaurant were sent overnight to the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University in Florida for testing.
DNA analysis from our tests indicated 17 of the restaurants substituted with a fish that wasn’t on the menu.
Click here to see the full list.Smith said it was unfair to include him in a story where our expert indicated the majority of Kansas City restaurants tested substituted with much cheaper fish.
“Wild Stripped (sic) Bass is a phenomenal fish and was not substituted as a cost saving measure,” Smith wrote. “You know that we did not intentionally substitute cheaper quality fish.”
Regardless of economic value, officials say substitution without disclosure violates food safety protocols.
“The fish is coming through is perhaps something different and you may be allergic to it or there may be certain toxic elements to it,” said Lisa Shames a food safety director with the US General Accounting Office
At Michael Smith, we spent $31.82 before tip on the grouper advertised online and on the menu.
Both the waitress and an employee who appeared to be the manager or maitre d are recorded on undercover video telling us we were getting grouper.
Our DNA analysis came back as a temperate bass.
The health department inspection report said a manager told them “when the investigator from NBC (Action News) dined at the establishment and ordered the pan roasted grouper, the waiter/waitress forgot or neglected to mention that the establishment has substituted wild strip (sic) bass for the grouper.”
“The grouper was no longer available” the health department report explains as the reason for the substitution.
The health department report said the owner of Michael Smith’s restaurant told inspectors “they would not explicitly and intentionally deceive a customer by serving an imitation food item.”
The restaurant showed inspectors receipts indicating they had regularly purchased grouper and that he had also purchased a premium sea bass that was comparably priced.
In his letter to NBC Action News, Smith criticized the
broadcast version of the report for not including footage of his invoices showing the restaurant had previously purchased grouper and showing the premium price of the bass with which he substituted.
The
Internet version of the story did include references to Smith’s invoices.
Our expert said the sample from Michael Smith was likely the premium fish with which Smith said he substituted.
“That sample showed a 99 percent DNA sequence match to striped bass Morone saxatilis,” said Prof. Mahmood Shivji with the Guy Harvey Research Institute. “However, they should not have called it grouper on the menu.”
The health department investigation says Michael Smith has removed both grouper and bass from its menu.
“The managers are putting staff through specific training to address and eliminate this issue,” Hershberger said. “We definitely approve of the steps they’ve taken to correct the situation.”
