Chinese Seafood Worries
Justin Pritchard and Adam Goldman of the Associated Press report that a bunch of potentially hazardous Chinese seafood made its way to American dinner tables, without ever being screened. Read on:
The frozen shrimp, catfish and eel arrived at U.S. ports under an "import alert," which meant the FDA was supposed to hold every shipment until it had passed a laboratory test.Not what you want to hear. Especially when you consider all the dangers surrounding certain types of seafood.
But that was not what happened, according to an AP check of shipments since last fall. One of every four shipments the AP reviewed got through without being stopped and tested. The seafood, valued at $2.5 million, was equal to the amount 66,000 Americans eat in a year.
FDA officials stuck the pond-raised seafood on their watch list because of worries it contained suspected carcinogens or antibiotics not approved for seafood.
You think you need to worry? Think of us poor souls eating in Hong Kong ... almost all our fish is coming from China ... or worse! Living here has made me embrace Dr. Fuhrman's diet so I can avoid animal protein. Only hassle is that 70% of our fresh produce is also from China - so I'm damaging the ozone by eating the australian stuff ... or risking poisoning myself and my kids by the chinese stuff. Sigh. I can't win.