Imported Frozen Fish

LakeWashington · 02-25-2009, 11:07 AM

Do you fish lovers out there often purchase frozen fin fish fillets and/or frozen shrimp imported from Asia?

I usually buy fresh whole seafood (oddly enough, I enjoyed scaling and cleaning them myself. Makes me feel like I REALLY WORKED at preparing dinner), but lately I've been convinced by the convenience of pre-cut fillets and the discounts offered by my local chain supermarket.

Yesterday I came across something called 'swai' which was being sold at very good price. I looked up the background of this fish online when I got home. It's a catfish farmed and native to Vietnam. The funny thing is, when the fish was first proposed for export to the USA, the American farmed catfish lobby, i.e. Mississippi Republicans (and more than a few Democrats, I'll wager) got Congre$$ to prohibit importers and retailers from labeling the stuff 'catfish.' Apparently swai is just a nickname for a few species of catfish in SE Asia. Money talks.

I've been very pleased lately with frozen farm-raised shrimp from Thailand. They seem to have solved the taste problem, as farmed shrimp from Latin America and Asia had a fairly muddled taste in earlier years. These babies from Thailand were plump and juicy when cooked and tasted like the fresh shrimp of my young years growing up near the ocean.

dmd77 · 02-25-2009, 11:20 AM

No. I don't. About the only fishery I'm comfortable with is the Alaska salmon fishery.

I am a SCUBA diver and a lot of divers discuss how the fish farms in tropical countries are poorly regulated and discharge pollution that destroys reefs for miles around.

LakeWashington · 02-25-2009, 11:50 AM

Dmd77, I've read up on that phenomena. I gather that some environmental groups, while not overly pleased with the present state of aquaculture, have said that more 'fish farms' have improved their methods with regard to environmental degredation and corruption of the gene pool for wild fish. I know that I was personally bummed to learn that salmon farmers where adding chemicals to fish feed to make the ultimate product's flesh appear more red. Haven't Alaska fish farms come under criticism also?

NYMomof2 · 02-25-2009, 12:04 PM

You're a scuba diver, dmd77? I'm impressed...

Columbia_Student · 02-25-2009, 12:57 PM

I would never buy frozen fish from other countries. What I've read, they feed the fish the same protein that are in the milk. So good thing I never did buy any frozen fish before, I've always buy wild fish.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec.../fi-melamine24

Quote:

Melamine in Chinese-produced milk powder has sickened hundreds of thousands of children and added to a growing list of made-in-China foods banned across the globe. Now, some scientists and consumer advocates are raising concerns that fish from China may also be contaminated with the industrial chemical.

China is the world’s largest producer of farm-raised seafood, exporting billions of dollars worth of shrimp, catfish, tilapia, salmon and other fish. The U.S. imported about $2 billion of seafood products from China in 2007, almost double the volume of four years earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But industry experts and businesspeople in China say that melamine has been routinely added to fish and animal feed to artificially boost protein readings. And new research suggests that, unlike in cows and pigs, the edible flesh in fish that have been fed melamine contains residues of the nitrogen-rich substance.

Melamine, commonly used in plastics and dishware, can lead to urinary problems such as kidney stones and even renal failure.

Last year, pet foods made with melamine-laced ingredients from China sickened or killed thousands of dogs and cats in the U.S. This year, infant formula tainted with the chemical has been linked to illness in 294,000 small children and six deaths in China, according to China’s Ministry of Health.

In the U.S., fish from China can be found in the frozen food aisle in supermarkets and is served in posh restaurants.

“China’s a big place, and it does a lot of processing, and cheaply too,” said Brian Dedmon, purchasing manager for the Fish King distribution plant in Burbank.

Fish King, which supplies hundreds of Southern California restaurants and has a store in Glendale, says it buys processed snow crab meat, squid and other seafood from China to meet market demand and because the price is competitive. Dedmon says the company relies on government inspections, its importers and its own experience to ensure the fish it buys is safe.

LakeWashington · 02-25-2009, 01:38 PM

ColumbiaStudent, I stopped buying foodstuffs from China several months ago after the scandals that were reported. Frankly, I won't trust my health to the existing government in China. They have proven time and again their utter disregard not only their westerm customers, but anyone else whose health might be adversely impacted by conduct originating in China. In addition to food safety, I'm speaking of the SARS near-pandemic a few years ago. The SARS outbreak and the danger was well known by Chinese authorities weeks (if not months) prior to news stories in the American, Canadian and European press. I stopped buying frozen shrimp when I saw 'made in China' on the package. Fortunately, farmed shrimp from Thailand is of very good quality and I have greater faith in Thai producers. Hopefully, Thai farmers won't dissapoint me.

Frankly, I don't know why American producers' fish products are dissapearing from the shelves in major supermarket chains. Perhaps most Mississippi and Louisiana farmed catfish is sold fresh rather than frozen? And I understand that the only American marine fish farms are in Maine, Washington and Alaska (all salmon producers), as well as Washington again for oysters. I understand that an aquaculture program at Rutgers University at one time sold Tilapia to supermarkets in New Jersey, but the frozen Tilapia I see on sale has a 'made in China' badge on it.

Columbia_Student · 02-25-2009, 01:44 PM

I don't eat catfish nor Tilapia so I don't know about them. I only eat fresh halibut caught locally, wild swordfish(Mexico), and wild salmon(Alaska).

LakeWashington · 02-25-2009, 02:02 PM

I'm with you regarding wild salmon from Alaska and from the Great Northwest. Beats the farmed stuff any day. My sister tells me you've haven't had salmon until you've tasted Copper River salmon from Alaska. And I'm old enough to remember fishermen selling slabs of fresh halibut from the docks at Elliott Bay in Seattle.

cbreeze · 02-25-2009, 02:03 PM

There's a lot of fresh farm raised catfish being sold in Asian supermarkets. I think they are raised by Vietnamese fish farmers here in the US. Most large Asian supermarkets have large fish tanks holding a big variety of fish. They are absolutely delicious and I don't see a need to buy frozen fish from Asia.

LakeWashington, do you have an Asian supermarket near you ?

emeraldkity4 · 02-25-2009, 02:08 PM

I appreciate that my grocery store- labels where the fish comes from.
I don't buy fish from China- I don't buy fish from the Atlantic & I don't buy farmed salmon from US.
I have eaten stuff in restaurants that I wouldn't buy for at home- I admit- but I will also have tofu added to dishes instead of prawns.
What's Behind Shrimp Farming

BunsenBurner · 02-25-2009, 02:20 PM

Fish from China does not sound too appetizing to me. When I was younger, I read about the tragedy of Minamata. In a similar way, unregulated chemical manufacturing in China creates unsafe levels of heavy metals in the water. Add to that such events as the recent recall of frozen mackerel from China (botulism), and fish from China looks even less appealing. Pacific salmon and halibut from Alaska are my favorites.

LakeWashington · 02-25-2009, 02:40 PM

Cbreeze, we do have fine Asian markets nearby, but I haven't been to the one that have ample fresh fish in a quite a while. Kitty, thanks for the link.

emeraldkity4 · 02-25-2009, 03:02 PM

This thread has made me hungry- I am heading over to Fisherman's Terminal ( which is just southwest of my neighborhood)
NEW 21st Century Viking: Why Fishermen's Terminal matters | West Seattle Herald

toledo · 02-25-2009, 03:08 PM

I don't buy farm-raised fish anymore. Everyone kept praising the salmon on the Costco thread, but my Costco only sells farm-raised.

Columbia_Student · 02-25-2009, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Most large Asian supermarkets have large fish tanks holding a big variety of fish.

Call me old fashion or whatever but I can't eat fish/seafood from these large tanks either. My experience from buying Dungeoness Crab from the tank and buying fresh from the dockand is a day/night in taste. Same with lobster from Costco, they are tasteless, I might as well eat cardboard. I have to drive near the coast to get fresh lobsters. So I reserve eating lobster to special occasion.