Banned Chemical Found In Wet Market Fish: HKBU

Some fish on sale at Hong Kong wet markets are riddled with a banned chemical, researchers warned on Tuesday.

Baptist University's Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre said it collected 57 samples of fish at random from markets across the territory late last year and tested them for any contaminants.

The researchers said five samples were found to contain leucomalachite green, a chemical which is toxic to the liver and is banned from food products in Hong Kong.

There is no safe level for the chemical and the samples contained between 0.7 and 6.9 mg per kilogramme, with the highest concentration in a mandarin fish bought from a market in Tsuen Wan.

All of the tainted products came from mainland aquatic farms, the research team said.

The centre’s director, Professor Jonathan Wong, said the chemical, which is linked to the fungicide malachite green, is potentially cancer-causing and the government should strengthen its monitoring of imported fish.

Wong said random sampling may not be sufficient and the authorities should try to determine which suppliers are providing contaminated fish to the territory.