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Mary Ann Benitez

Green grouper from Taiwan found contaminated, while freshwater stocks go back on sale after a three-day boycott

A popular marine fish was taken off the shelves at 25 Wellcome supermarkets last night after tests showed a sample  was contaminated with malachite green.

It was the first time that the cancer-causing industrial dye, also used as a fungicide for fish but banned as a food additive, has been found in marine fish.

Malachite green in the green grouper, which was imported from Taiwan, was  present in one sample at a fish stall in a Wellcome supermarket on King's Road, North Point.

However, the Taiwanese government said there was no proof that the fish came from the island and pledged to inspect all grouper in Taiwan.

The chemical was not detected in  five other samples collected from a local fish farm, wholesale and other retail outlets, a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said.

The Hong Kong Chamber of Seafood Merchants Company yesterday agreed to stop selling cultured green grouper until they were tested by the government.

The new scare came on the day freshwater fish traders resumed business after a three-day boycott. Only 9 tonnes of freshwater fish entered Hong Kong yesterday - jacking prices up by 40 per cent - but retailers  reported  strong business.

It is understood that all green grouper had already been sold at the North Point branch before the positive test results came in.

Wellcome earlier yesterday offered a 'super deal' on the green grouper, selling it at $86 a catty, down from $92. A spokeswoman for the supermarket chain said the fish came from 'a government-approved supplier at the Aberdeen wholesale market'.

A ParknShop spokeswoman said  it did not  sell green grouper.

Aberdeen Fisheries and Seafood Association chairman Chan Fu-ming said it was possible the Taiwanese fishermen raised green grouper in man-made saltwater ponds, which made application of malachite green possible.

Almost half of the green grouper sold in Hong Kong comes from Thailand, followed by Malaysia and Philippines. Taiwan accounts for 1 per cent of the imports, while local fish account for 20 per cent.

The Liberal Party's legislator for the catering sector, Tommy Cheung Yu-yan,  believed the contamination was 'an isolated incident'.

At Quarry  Bay wet market yesterday,  fishmongers complained of a fourth day  of limited stock. 'I snatched some from a delivery truck that is meant to supply a restaurant - they came in 50 per cent more expensive,'  Ng Hong said.

'Big fish cost $14 per catty, $4 more expensive than usual, but I can only put up the  price by $2 per catty as many still have reservations about freshwater fish,' said Tai Ping market vendor Wan Po.



Saltwater fish taken off the shelves