Originally published December 8 2005
Canadian group issues warning about fish imported from Vietnam
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Consumer Association of Canada is urging the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ban the import of Vietnamese fish found to be tainted with Malachite green, a fungicide suspected of causing cancer.
Fish imported from Vietnam and used commonly in Asian dishes have tested positive for a banned form of fungicide.
Malachite green, which some tests have shown to cause cancer, created serious consumer concerns in Hong Kong last summer when it was found in fish imported from China.
The fungicide is banned in imported fish, with zero tolerance for any sign of the industrial dye, used regularly until the early 1990s in hatcheries to treat fungal and parasitic infections on fish eggs, fish and shellfish and as a general disinfectant.
The Consumer Association of Canada is calling for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ban the import of farmed fish immediately as a result of the test findings.
"We're suggesting that until CFIA gets this sorted out in a way that will guarantee no MG gets into food sold here, that they ban it entirely," said Bruce Cran, president of the association.
Exposure to malachite green leads to temporary or non-life-threatening health consequences, according to Health Canada, and the probability of serious adverse consequences is considered remote.
Nonetheless, CFIA has increased its monitoring of imported aquaculture products from Vietnam and China after a small sample showed nearly 50 per cent contained malachite green.
CFIA began testing for the chemical in 2002, and since the end of September has tested all farmed fish from those countries.
"We take anything that is a potential health risk seriously," said Stephen Stephen, the national manager of technical standards in the fish, seafood and production division of the agency.
Mr. Stephen said the agency would have put out an alert if Health Canada had informed the CFIA that MG poses a serious and immediate health risk.
Because the fish is sometimes sold frozen, Mr. Stephen said, the CFIA is attempting to contact suppliers and sellers to advise of the potential risk.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml