China to conduct more checks for local seafood

More frequent and efficient tests will be done on seafood products that are sold in local wholesale markets to detect toxins caused by red tide, scientific authorities in Shanghai and neighbouring Zhejiang Province said Sunday (May 17).

 

The Ministry of Science and Technology and both Shanghai and Zhejiang's regional governments have invested RMB60 million (US$8.79 million) in a project targeting major red tide hazards in the Yangtze River Delta region, which will begin this year.

 

The project will oversee an establishment of a model area at the mouth of the Yangtze River situated at the boundary of Shanghai and Zhejiang for research purposes. It will also promote the development of a domestic reagent for red tide toxins and improve monitoring of red tides through satellites and other technologically-advanced devices.

 

Once a domestically produced instant reagent on red tide toxins is introduced, the authorities plan to do more tests. Seafood products can only be sold in the market after they pass the tests, according to local experts who are in charge of the project.

 

As Shanghai shares the same waters with neighbouring provinces in the Yangtze River Delta, many seafood products sold in the city are from these provinces, especially Zhejiang's Zhoushan City, said Wang Jinhui from the East China Sea Environmental Monitoring Centre in Shanghai. He added that cooperation and information sharing on red tides will improve their research and ultimately help to prevent harmful effects to humans and the environment.

 

Red tide, also known as algal bloom, occurs when algae accumulates rapidly in a body of water. It can kill fish, pollute the sea and impact the marine ecosystem. An estimated 20 percent of red tides contain toxins that can amass in marine life, which will harm humans when such seafood is eaten.

 

Meanwhile, the authorities have begun checks on toxins in seafood products in Zhoushan and Shanghai. However, they only can conduct spot checks twice a month and it takes two days to get back test results. Furthermore, it is too expensive for large-scale testing as an instant reagent test imported from the West costs more than RMB50 (US$7.32).

 

According to Wang, the domestic reagent worked in the laboratory and it will eventually reach the market.