No formaldehyde-tainted golden thread fish were found on the market in northern Taiwan during a recent inspection, the Fisheries Administration said yesterday.
Late last week, health authorities gathered more than 260 samples of golden threads in both Taipei City and Keelung to test for formaldehyde.
The sampling was triggered by the discovery of formaldehyde-tainted golden threads in Taichung late last month.
Taichung City Government health officials randomly sampled 16 golden threads purchased from a vendor and found two were contaminated by formaldehyde.
After the discovery was publicized on Thursday, sales of all kinds of fish began to decline. There was a 40 percent drop in trade volume in fish markets from Thursday to Saturday. Trade in golden thread dropped by 90 percent.
After it was confirmed that the two tainted golden threads came from Penghu County and Keelung, health authorities launched a com-prehensive sampling in northern Taiwan.
"At least consumers can relax because we suspect the contamination found in Taichung could be random cases," Hu Chi-hsiang (
Hu said it was not necessary for local fish dealers to use formaldehyde as a preservative because it does not take a long time to transfer products to markets in Taiwan.
"So far, we have no evidence to support the idea that the contamination could be attributed to exchange of aquatic products between Taiwanese fishermen and their counterparts from China," Hu said.
On Friday, the Taichung City Government found two more contaminated golden threads, but at a different fish market than where the first two were found.
The sources of the second pair has not yet been released.
Formaldehyde, which is used as a preservative in medical laboratories, as an embalming fluid and as a sterilizer, is classified as a human carcinogen and has been linked to nasal and lung cancer, and with possible links to brain cancer and leukemia.
To ensure fish products on the market are formaldehyde-free, the Fisheries Administration on Saturday began offering free reagents for formaldehyde tests to dealers at major fish markets nationwide. No additional cases of contamination were reported.
Hu said that using reagents was a voluntary way of ensuring pro-duct quality.
In the future, Hu said, it will be essential to be able to establish the traceability of products available at fish markets.
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