A total of 47 samples of fish dishes were collected from 37 res- taurants in a medium sized city in she souneastern United States from October 2013 to were grouped into three type Group A was c of 15 samples labeled "catfish" on the restaurant menu Group B fish dishes claiming to contain species with relatively high prices. including 18 grouper samples, 3 snapper, 1 sea bass and 1 sole: and Group C contained fish products without specifying the species. generally referred to as "fish of the day" or "fish platter" All sam- ples were purchased as take-out orders and immediately processed for analysis upon receipt/ Restaurant samples that were cooked with various sauces and gravies were promptly rinsed with deionized water and patted dry with clean paper towels A portion of fish meat (-5 g) was cut from the interior part of each sample for subsequent analyses All utensils were cleaned thoroughly after handling each sample to avoid cross-contamination, and all the