The Ministry of Agriculture on Monday released the results of an
investigation into contaminated fish, saying sales of the fish had
been banned, stocks destroyed and producers punished.
Shanghai health authorities announced on November 17 they had
detected excessive residues of carcinogenic chemicals nitrofuran
and chloromycetin in 30 samples of turbot.
Several cities and provinces -- including Beijing, Tianjin,
Xi'an and Liaoning -- started quality inspections of turbot, and
many banned the sales of turbot, most of it provided by three
fishery enterprises in eastern China's Shandong Province.
A Ministry of Agriculture statement said an inspection team was
sent to Shandong, where nitrofuran and chloromycetin were found in
the fish farms.
Nitrofuran and chloromycetin are man-made substances that have
been prohibited for fish feed under Chinese law, the ministry
said.
The three enterprises in Shandong had been banned from selling
fish products and fined, said Zhang Yuxiang, chief economist with
the ministry.
The ministry would continue its investigation to trace the
source of the chemicals, Zhang said.
Due to its low resistance to disease, the turbot, introduced
from Europe in the 1990s, is sometimes fed large quantities of
medicinal supplements that leave potentially harmful residues in
the flesh.
(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)