About 1,000 kg of turbot were put onto the market in Beijing on
Tuesday, the first time after the lifting of a month-long sales ban
imposed after carcinogens were detected in the fish in
Shanghai.
The batch of turbot produced by fishery companies in Huludao,
northeast China's Liaoning Province, has been approved by the
Beijing Food Safety Office, said Wang Jianhua, who works in the
office.
Due to their low resistance to disease, the fish introduced to
China from Europe in 1992 are sometimes fed large quantities of
medicinal supplements, which can leave harmful residues in their
flesh.
The recent scare regarding turbot sales in Beijing and other
cities reflects loopholes in food safety monitoring, according to
Lei Jilin, the man who introduced the flatfish to China.
"There is no quality control before the fish enter the market,
even though government departments are supposed to do that," said
Lei, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a researcher
with the Yellow Sea Fishery Research Institute of Chinese Academy
of Fishery Sciences.
China produces 55,000 tons of turbot every year, of which 70
percent is produced in the eastern province of Shandong.
The turbot industry suffered great damage after carcinogens were
detected in Shanghai and the sales bans were enforced. It is
estimated there were 50 million fish totaling 25,000 tons in
Shandong that could not be sold.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2006)