Recently, a sampling inspection report regarding aquatic product quality and safety issued by Guangdong Food and Drug Administration received a lot of public attention. The inspection carried out in 2015 and January in 2016 showed that about one fifth of the products couldn’t meet the requirements of quality and safety and about one fourth of the samples gathered in catering chain was disqualified. Yellowhead catfish and mandarin fish were all among the disqualification list. Its necessary for some supervision authorities to strengthen their inspection and supervision to protect citizens’ health and safety.
Random Inspection
Yellowhead catfish and mandarin fish were among the disqualified product list
Chloramphenicol, namely antibiotic residue, was found in more than half of the inspected products. Malachite green was the main forbidden drugs found. As Chloramphenicol was highly effective and cheap, it’s ever widely used in animal husbandry. But it’s exceedingly toxic to hematopoietic system and digestive system of animals, which could be gathered intensively in its body and did harm to human health through food chain. As for the Malachite green, it’s listed as the forbidden drugs by many countries because of its high toxicity, high residue proportion, cancer causing and mutagenesis. China listed it in forbidden drugs and chemical compounds in foods and animals in 2002.
Random inspection report from Guangdong Food and Drug Administration found that there was a high rate of disqualification among shellfish and turbot fish while only 65.25% of the mandarin fish met the requirement, 38.64% of razor clam and 29.17% of yellowhead catfish.
Use antibiotics to reduce infection
Because of the small transport space, fishes may be hurt by other fish’s scales, which might increase the risks of infection. Immoral merchants would use antibiotics like chloramphenicol and malachite green to reduce the infection and avoid the death of fish. But these drugs were harmful to human health.
According to Guangdong Food Safety Office and Food and Drug Administration, present aquatic product distribution channel is many and complicated and aquatic product transaction and transport frequency is also high. Besides, each part involves transport, loading and unloading, sorting, retaining freshness, storage and package. To reduce as much loss as possible, traders employ fish medicine and forbidden drugs; in the chain of wholesale and retail, some even use chemical preservatives like formaldehyde and forbidden chemical products like malachite green to retain good product appearance; some catering companies also illegally use forbidden drugs.
Farmer’s market can only inspect formaldehyde
Ordinary consumers can’t identify malachite green and chloramphenicol, which can only inspected by inspection authorities. The sellers of seafood can’t provide safety certificate. According to a responsible person in meat and vegetable market in Yuexiu district, Guangdong, the seafood sellers in the market can’t provide the certificate. The wholesale market wouldn’t show that to the sellers and the invoice was normally written by hand. This market would carry out random inspection against the aquatic product every day，but it can only inspect formaldehyde because of limited devices. The malachite green and chloramphenicol and other harmful matter couldn’t be found.
Random inspection carried out in wholesale market but without access system in operation
It’s reported from management department in Huangsha aquatic market that it would carry out random inspection every day but some results could only be released after a few days.
In May of last year, Huangsha aquatic market initiated “clam safety access management”, which required that the clam had to provide qualified inspection report and origin certificate before entering market. Beside it had to entrust the inspection to the market inspection station, or it would be rejected to enter the market. However, the access system hasn’t been widely employed by the market while random inspection is generally implemented in many markets.
Supermarket is strict about certificate and invoice
Compared with farmer’s market and wholesale market, supermarket is more strict about product origin that it will require purchasing voucher and invoice to easily trace the product source. Besides, it will invite the third professional survey institution to carry out random inspection.
According to Walmart, it employs exceedingly high standards regarding the production, processing, storage, transport and retaining freshness technologies of fresh products. All its strict food safety access and inspection principles should be followed. And professional inspection institutions would carry out regular inspection according to national standards.
Aquatic product access system on the way
In January, China Food and Drug Administration issued edible agricultural products marketing quality and safety supervision management measures, which stipulates that the market should check and record seller’s social credit code or ID card copy, product origin certificate, or purchasing voucher and qualification certificate. If sellers can’t provide these documents, random inspection or fast inspection should be carried out by the market owner; the product can only enter the market after it passes the inspection. In the future, only qualified aquatic product can be sold in the market. Market access system will wield its influence over the aquatic market.
