October 7, 2005

Carcinogen detected in South Korean seafood

South Korea's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered on Oct 6 an immediate recall of two species of farmed fish in South Korean markets, less than a day after the country's Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries revealed that malachite green had been found at harmful levels in its farmed carp and trout.

The FDA has also now ordered the Korea Restaurant Association to tell restaurants to keep these fish off the menu until authorities conduct further investigations of the contamination.

On Oct 5, the ministry said it had discovered the carcinogen in carp and trout reared at 34-36 fish farms located in eight regions. It is the first time that the synthetic anti-bacterial agent has been found at South Korean fish farms, and the ministry has since ordered those fish farms closed.

The chemical's use in the aquaculture industry was banned worldwide since the mid-1990s after it was determined to be cancer causing. The chemical is also used as a pharmaceutical for aquarium fish as well as a fabric dye.

The EU had set a limit of 0.002 parts per million for the chemical in food; the fish in South Korea, however, had levels ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 parts per million.

The detection of the carcinogen has dealt a major blow to the local aquaculture industry and is expected to seriously cut into the sales of trout and leather carp, which account for 23.4 percent and 4.7 percent respectively of fish product sales in South Korea.

The detection of the contamination came at time when the South Korean ministry is calling for the Chinese government to halt all exports of its freshwater aquaculture products, after malachite green was found in some of the latter's farmed freshwater and saltwater fish.