The Council of Agriculture (COA) decided yesterday to investigate possible melamine contamination in the aquaculture industry, after a fake protein additive was found in a brand of locally produced fish food.
Fisheries Agency Director General James Sha (沙志一) said his agency would identify all the fish farms that have used the contaminated food in the next few days and then test their fish for melamine residue.
The contaminated fish food made by a Pingtung County-based manufacturer was made for feeding groupers, milkfish and Japanese seaperches.
The agency uncovered the problem during its latest regular inspection of fish food. Melamine, which had not been a target in tests, was included after the chemical was found in squid viscera meal from South Korea intended as a fish food ingredient last week.
Sha said a preliminary investigation linked the contamination in Taiwan to South Korea.
Sha said the contaminated fish food was processed from a batch of squid meal that had been imported from South Korea last month.
Of the 36,000kg of squid meal imported by the Taiwanese manufacturer, 30,750kg were used to produce a total of 200,000kg of fish food and more than 170,000kg of the fishmeal had been sold to local fish farms.
The agency seized the manufacturer’s inventory of contaminated feed and has ordered a recall of the sold products.
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