» 02/18/2012 09:36 CHINA "Glue" shrimps latest food scandal in China The discovery in the fish market in Tianjin after the complaint of consumers. Shrimp were injected with the liquid to increase weight and texture "up to 30%." There is no official confirmation on the toxicity, but it has its dangers. A new alert after melamine-tainted milk, carcinogenic cheese, and antifreeze toothpaste.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Food Safety Agency in
Tianjin Municipality,
north China,
has opened an investigation against a fish market in the area over the possible
contamination of fish. The
investigation was launched after widespread Internet warnings on consignments
of shrimps "injected with a chemical similar to a jelly glue"
designed to increase their weight and texture. Local
sources report that, in recent days, a woman named Zhang purchased
approximately 2.5 kg
of fresh and apparently large shrimp: after washing, the crustaceans lost their
consistency and leaked an "anomalous" liquid".
Although
there is no official confirmation, according to experts it would seem the
gelatin used make shrimp (pictured) fresher and up to " %" heavier. Retailers
claim that the food additive is "legal" and does not constitute a
threat to health. However,
to defuse the controversy and protests the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce has
promoted a "10 day campaign" to analyze the food product in question and
evaluate the quality of fish products in the local market.
A
fish vendor, speaking anonymously to China's official Xinhua news agency
confirmed that the gelatin "is injected into the head and stomach" of
shrimp, to improve their external aspect. The
producers are minimizing the risks in an attempt to calm tensions, but to date
no authority has determined that this particular type of gelatin is free from
risks to humans. Already
in 2011 the local government ordered the closure of a company that was injecting
gelatin into crustaceans to increase their weight, seizing 170 kg of product.
The
Land of the Dragon is not new to food scares, which continue in spite of
government proclamations of controls and safety: last year China Mengniu Dairy
Industry admitted the presence of a deadly levels of aflatoxin, the most cancerous
substance in the world, and in 2008 six children were killed and a farther 300
thousand made ill from melamine-tainted milk, and again, antifreeze toothpaste,
carcinogenic soybeans, bouncing boiled eggs and many other toxic products.
