It happens more often than it should, and, to think rationally, we might believe that it happens due to confusion and lack of knowledge and not so much because they want to pass off the scallop (which is cheaper on the market) as an expensive and prized mollusk like the mixed clam (the scallop(in Galician). The fact is that they look alike but are different, very different. On the one hand, scallops have a light, almost white shell and an orange gonad. On the other hand, mixed shells have a dark shell and their gonad is not orange but light-colored, like the rest of their body. They are bivalve mollusks, which means they have two parts, two valves, and they live in the Atlantic and also in the Mediterranean. However, there is a key difference between the two when they reach the market: mixed shells have a very high price because, in addition to the fishing bans that regulate them, their catch, when permitted, is scarce due to overexploitation, while scallops have a lower price and are caught more frequently.

The Civil Guard and staff from the Government's Department of Health have seized 20 tons of spoiled fish and shellfish from a food distribution company in Palma. According to the Civil Guard, the inspection of the facilities where the food was stored took place last April, and the sanctioning process has concluded with fines totaling €90,000 for two very serious infractions. Agents from the Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) of the Civil Guard and technicians from the Palma Region's Department of Public Health, who carried out the operation, verified that most of the stored products had expired, in some cases as far back as 2019. Furthermore, the cold chain, essential for the proper preservation of fish and shellfish, had been partially broken in these 20 tons of food, despite having been refrozen. The shipment was immediately impounded to prevent it from entering the market, and a disciplinary file was opened against the responsible distributor.