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Chinese fish become a major health concern

South Korea officials said yesterday they were stepping up inspections of imported Chinese freshwater fish after finding cancer-causing chemicals in some fish sent from the country.

The Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) said in a statement released on Tuesday it had found the carcinogens malachite green and leucomalachite in some imported Chinese carp available at a local wholesale market.

The KFDA said the fish were probably imported before Aug. 23. The agency had placed a quarantine on Chinese and Vietnamese eels since July after finding malachite green in eel and eel-related products from those countries.

Malachite green, which has been found to be carcinogenic in rats, has been widely used by fish farmers to kill parasites. The chemical is banned in many countries, including China.

Earlier this month Hong Kong, which relies heavily on China for food supplies, found malachite green in eels and other freshwater fish.

China told South Korean authorities that on Aug. 12 it had voluntarily suspended its eel exports, KFDA officials said.

KFDA said it had destroyed or shipped back the contaminated eels and eel products it found and expanded its testing of other kinds of fish imported from China.

Singapore and Japan, which import huge amounts of Chinese eels, have also stepped up checks for malachite green.

Tokyo has warned it will consider a ban if widespread contamination is found, while Singapore will require all eels and freshwater fish imported from China to undergo pre-export tests.

Some biologists say there is no need to panic over the detection of malachite green in fish because huge amounts of contaminated eel and fish would have to be eaten before one could develop a risk for cancer. But many also advise it is best to play it safe.

On a separate matter, since 2000, South Korea's health authorities said they have sporadically found lead in some Chinese crabs imported into the country, saying the crustaceans were loaded with pellets in order to increase the weight of the shipment.

Meanwhile, several Chinese fish farms selected by authorities to provide Hong Kong with safe freshwater fish either don't exist or are dried pools slated for urban development, local media reported yesterday.

The news came amid a major scare about the safety of freshwater fish imported from China. Some of the fish have tested positive for malachite green -- a possibly cancer-causing chemical that farmers use to fight infections in fish.

Chinese officials provided a list of 18 fish farms in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong that were supposed to be raising safe fish. But the list didn't have detailed addresses or contact information, the Ming Pao Daily reported.

Hong Kong health officials were not aware of the situation and only received confirmation from China late Tuesday, said Sally Kong, a government spokeswoman.

Media investigations revealed that one selected farm could not be found and villagers claimed they have never heard of it. Another farm on the list has long gone out of business to make way for the construction of a factory, the paper said.
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