New threat found in Chinese fish

Another health threat posed by catfish imported from China has been discovered. The Catfish Institute has warned that the imports could contain melamine, the substance discovered in Chinese-produced milk powder. The substance resulted in tainted infant formula, linked to illness in 294,000 small children and six deaths in China.

Louisiana has been fighting the sale of seafood imported from China for years. Probably the strongest measure was taken in 2005, when the state agriculture department moved to stop sales of Asian seafood after it was discovered that the imports contained fluoroquinolones. The antibiotic could boost the resistance of potentially harmful bacteria found in the fish. If such bacteria are passed along to humans in the food chain, the efficiency of needed antibiotics could be reduced, the agency said.

The Catfish Institute says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of imported fish, currently doesn't require screening of seafood products for melamine. This is despite the fact that laboratory studies of melamine-fed catfish, trout, tilapia and salmon by the FDA's Animal Drugs Research Center found melamine concentrations of up to 200 parts per million. That's 80 times the maximum "tolerable" amount set by the FDA for safe consumption.

Since melamine has been linked to illness on the part of thousands of children, the Chinese government has begun to crack down on melamine suppliers. Still, Chinese shipments of contaminated fish continue to be detained at U.S. ports, exposing holes in the Chinese food-safety system that analysts say is undermined by a lack of resources, corruption and unscrupulous businesses that will sometimes mislabel or reroute goods through other countries.

The public should reject Chinese catfish, but first it must be identified as such. In 2007, we urged the federal government to require Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) on menus of restaurants serving seafood as well as on packaged seafood sold in food stores. There were three major opportunities for that step to be taken: the Farm Bill, an agreement with the Chinese, and the Bush administration's import food "safety plan."

The opportunity was ignored.

Americans want Country of origin labeling on seafood sold in stores and on restaurant menus. A poll by Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, found that 92 percent of Americans favor country of origin labeling on all foods. And, according to a separate online survey conducted for The Catfish Institute of the U.S., 96 percent of consumers would want to know if the catfish served in restaurants is imported or U.S. farm-raised. The federal government is doing little to help people protect themselves. State lawmakers from Louisiana and other coastal areas should take the lead in developing strong labeling legislation for the state.