The Ministry of Agriculture made the controversial ruling.
China will now be labelling rainbow trout as salmon because they both come under the umbrella name and category of salmonidae fish, according to the Chinese publication, Global Times.
CAPPMA (the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance) a social organisation under the Ministry of Agriculture, along with 13 fishery companies, issued the standard.
The news site said that the ruling is intended to resolve complaints that China-produced rainbow trout is being mislabled as salmon, while addressing concerns that eating rainbow trout raw could lead to parasite infection.
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The sale of salmon has been increasing in China in recent years. So far this year, China (including Hong Kong) has purchased 16,454 tonnes of fresh salmon from Norway, an huge increase of 141 percent compared to the same period last year.
However a lack of standards of home grown produce has raised concerns of Chinese consumers.
In May, SalmonBusiness reported that one-third of the salmon sold in China is in fact rainbow trout.
The con caused widespread outrage after it was revealed that freshwater trout farmed high on the Tibetan Plateau was being rebranded as salmon once the produce landed at markets thousands of miles away.
Authorities addressed concerns as to if rainbow trout can be eaten raw saying that domestic rainbow trout is fed hygienically and quarantined carefully saying “whether salmon has parasites does not depend on whether it is bred in sea water or fresh water.”
The standard issued by CAPPMA also said it will apply strict rules to control worms in salmon, asking restaurants and companies to put a label on fish products, so that consumers know where the fish comes from and, bafflingly, their precise species.
