China will inspect its aquaculture in coastal areas after some
turbot were found to contain excessive amount of a carcinogenic
medicine in Shanghai, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA)
said on Friday.
During its latest inspection, the Shanghai food and drug
administration detected excessive medicine residue in all 30
samples of turbot.
Due to their poor disease resistance, fish are sometimes fed
with large quantities of banned medicine, leaving behind excessive
medicine residue.
"Though these medicines cause no harm to the human body in the
short term, they are probably carcinogenic when taken in large
quantities," an unnamed expert said.
The SFDA has urged local offices and authorities in Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Liaoning provinces and Tianjin Municipality to conduct inspections of
its aquaculture and closely monitor the situation.
The Shanghai food and drug administration issued an alarm on
Friday, warning people to be cautious when buying and eating
turbot.
The turbot has developed quickly in China since it was
introduced from Europe in the 1990s.
(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2006)