January 19, 2007

Shanghai approves resumption of turbot sales

Shanghai's Food and Drug Administration approved specific brands of turbot fish for the coming Spring Festival.

According to the Shanghai Labour Daily, the new batch of turbot fish has anti-counterfeit brands attached. The nameplate tells the brand, origin of the turbot fish, the product's ID code and anti-counterfeit number.

Consumers can get detailed information about each turbot fish they purchase by sending a message to the company using the numbers provided on the nameplate.

To ensure the health of citizens, Shanghai and Shandong's aquatic breeding associations have reached an agreement to strictly supervise the fish transported to Shanghai.

The fish is now flown in instead of going through transport by sea, thus doubling the price of the fish to RMB 120 (USUS$15.4) a kilogramme.

Last year, sales of turbot fish was suspended as turbot fish from Shandong was found to contain carcinogenic chemicals due to farmers using banned chemicals in feed.

The turbot fish market was halted after unqualified turbot fish were found in many markets. Recovery would take some time since the reappearance of the turbot fish has just begun, said a manager of Tianyuan Aquaculture Company of Yantai, Shandong province.