FDA Halts Imports of Farmed Fish From China

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Approximately four-fifths of the seafood consumed in this country is imported from about 62 countries, according to the FDA's import alert.

China remains the biggest producer of aquacultured seafood in the world, accounting for 70 percent of the total production and 55 percent of the total value of aquacultured seafood exported worldwide.

China is also the No. 3 exporter of seafood to the United States, the agency noted. Shrimp and catfish products are two of America's top 10 most-consumed seafood products.

The contaminants found in the fish are the antimicrobials nitrofuran, malachite green, gentian violet, and fluoroquinolone. Nitrofuran, malachite green and gentian violet, which are used to treat fungal infections, have been shown to be carcinogenic with long-term exposure in lab animals. The use of fluoroquinolones in food animals may increase antibiotic resistance to this class of antibiotics.

Fish farmers in China are purposely adding these chemicals to the fish feed and water to deal with fungal and bacterial infections, Acheson said.

"None of these substances is approved for use in farm-raised seafood in the United States, and the use of nitrofurans and malachite green in aquaculture is also prohibited by Chinese authorities," Acheson said.

Incidents of contamination of Chinese farmed fish go back at least six years. "There have been problems with farmed fish products produced in China and exported to the U.S. since 2001," Margaret O' K. Glavin, FDA's associate commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, said during the teleconference.

In 2006, the FDA placed a countrywide alert on all Chinese eel due to residues of malachite green, Glavin said.

Import bans on farm-raised fish are not limited to China. "There are import bans on farm-raised fish from particular manufactures in other countries," Galvin said.

The current FDA's alert is based on an increased monitoring of imported seafood. From October 2006 through May 2007 the FDA found residue of unapproved animal drugs and/or unsafe food additives in seafood imported from China.