Week 7–Something Fishy about the Seafood Industry: Watch out on What You Eat!
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has been alerted that detectable amount of formaldehyde (which is known to the public as “formalin”) contaminated frozen fish was found at national grocery retailers in Greensboro, North Carolina. Usually, some fish species naturally contain a trace level of formaldehyde as one product of their metabolites. However, this metabolic product is produced in such small amount that it is considered undetectable. The laboratory confirmed formaldehyde positive result of these frozen fish indicated that formaldehyde has been intentionally added. It is later discovered that these formaldehyde contaminated fish products were originated from China and Vietnam.
Formaldehyde, which is not commonly used in North America, is rather routinely exploited as a perseverative for fish in some Asian countries. Research (Sotelo et al., 1995) has shown that formaldehyde can prevent fish protein denaturation during frozen storage, keeping the flesh fresh for a much longer time. This is ideal for long distance shipping and trading—for instance, exporting fish and fish products from Asia to North America.
In addition, this is not the first and only time that fish and fish products that originate in China and Vietnam are formaldehyde contaminated. In 2013, however, formaldehyde was also identified from frozen fish products in grocery stores in Raleigh, NC, according to Food Safety News (2013). These formaldehyde contaminated fish also originated from China and Vietnam, and they constitute up to 25% of the entire seafood imports from these two countries.
Moreover, besides China and Vietnam, other Asian countries also have issues with formaldehyde application to seafood and fishery industry. Bangladesh (Rahman et al., 2015) for example, has long been suffering from formaldehyde adulteration on their fish products. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (Liteplo, 2002), fish products have naturally occurring formaldehyde found in their flesh that ranges from 1 to 20mg/kg fish. However, the mean formaldehyde concentration in locally harvested fish in Bangladesh was 118.6mg/kg fish, about 6 times higher then the suggested value by WHO. This data strongly indicates that formaldehyde was intentionally added to the fishes, as unprocessed fish would not contain formaldehyde in such high concentration.
The health risks associated with formaldehyde exposure are complicated. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI, 2010) short-term health effects from formaldehyde exposure include watery eyes, nausea, skin irritation, and etc. Long-term exposure to formaldehyde can significantly increase the chance of getting cancer. Especially, it can increase the risks of acquiring leukemia and brain tumor.
Although not as frequently reported as other food safety related concerns, formaldehyde adulteration in fish and fish products is still a potential threat to public health. Its occurrence might be relatively rare, but its complication can be devastating. Especially in Asian countries, where the population density is high but the economical development is low, limited public resources can make the treatment of formaldehyde exposure hard. Therefore, it is essential that the governments of corresponding countries take serious responsibility, carefully monitor their food production systems, making sure no unqualified products slip through.
References:
• Sotelo, C., Pineiro, C., & Perezmartin, R. (1995). denaturation of fish proteins during frozen storage – role of formaldehyde. Zeitschrift Fur Lebensmittel-Untersuchung Und-Forschung, 200(1), 14-23.
• Imports and Exports: How Safe is Seafood From Foreign Sources? | Food Safety News. (2013, November 10). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/11/imports-and-exports-how-safe-is-seafood-from-foreign-sources/#.ViQNtyBViko
• Rahman, S., Majumder, M., Ahasan, R., Ahmed, S., Das, P., & Rahman, N. (2015). The extent and magnitude of formalin adulteration in fish sold in domestic markets of Bangladesh: A literature review. International Journal of Consumer Studies. doi:10.1111/ijcs.12238
• International Program on Chemical Safety, Liteplo, R. G., & W. H. Organization, (2006). Concise international chemical assessment document, number 40: Formaldehyde World Health Organization (WHO).
• Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk. (2011, June 10). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/formaldehyde/formaldehyde-fact-sheet
EmilyChow, 
AngeliMalimban, 
EmilyLi, and 10 others are discussing.
shinnie 12:43 pm on November 17, 2015 Permalink |
Wow, people are definitely creative when it comes to preserving foods. I know formaldehyde is commonly used to preserve dead organisms or specimens, but it is shocking to learn that industries would go this far in extent to use a chemical that is known to be highly toxic to humans to prolong the shelf-life of their products. I did a bit of research on formaldehyde regulations in Canada and it appears that our government acknowledges there may be residual levels of formaldehyde in inactivated veterinary vaccines (particularly bacterins), not much about formaldehyde adulteration relating to seafood and fishery industry though! They are also commonly used to produce resins and fertilizers in Canada. CFIA recommended methods to test for formaldehyde include: acetyl acetone titration, ferric chloride titration and the basic fuchsin test.
mustafa akhtar 1:57 pm on November 17, 2015 Permalink |
i wonder how protein denaturation would occur by freezing. From my understanding, it would have to be a strong compound to break the di-sulfide bonds in the protein structure. Can someone elaborate exactly how the protein structure is affected by freezing?
wen liao 7:54 pm on November 18, 2015 Permalink |
1. To put it simple: large ice crystals will form inside the cell during freezing, especially during slow freezing process. These ice crystals are so large that they will break the cellular membrane structure of the cells, causing destruction of the cellular structure and leaking of cellular components, which might result subsequent degradation of muscle protein…
2. freezer burn
amreenj 1:57 pm on November 17, 2015 Permalink |
It is scary to think that individuals may be consuming formaldehyde without even knowing it! This article goes to show the extreme lengths that people in the food industry may go to increase the shelf life of products. With the expansion of food trade to a global level, it is becoming more and more difficult to avoid such preservatives in our foods. As mentioned in the post the exposure to these chemicals (ie. formaldehyde) can have serious and significant impacts on ones health. I think that the government needs to have stricter rules when it comes to internationally imported foods as well as with the liberal use of preservatives. Each country has different laws and regulations regarding the use of preservatives/ chemicals and we should make sure that these rules align with our country’s as well.
catherine wong 2:48 pm on November 17, 2015 Permalink |
This is quite surprising that some people would actually use formaldehyde on food products that are to be consumed. I remember in my high school biology class where we were dissecting pigs and the pigs were preserved with formaldehyde. The formaldehyde on the pigs had a really strong distinct odour so I wonder if the cooking masked the smell so people would not know what was in it while eating. I also agree that since formaldehyde has such serious impacts on health such as the risk of cancer through long term exposure, the government should think about setting stricter regulations and testing in imported products. Setting regulations is hard and would probably take years but would be necessary to prevent such high levels of formaldehyde contaminated food products from being consumed and harming people.
laurenrappaport 11:04 pm on November 21, 2015 Permalink |
It’s shocking to see what some people are using for the preservation of food! Especially when the longterm health effects are linked to cancer. Although this has not really been seen in North America, with all of the international trade that occurs in the food industry, it should be of major concern to everyone. I did not even think that a compound like this could be used as a preservative in food and that industries would use it knowing the negative health implications. I think that strict government regulations should be in place to test products for formaldehyde. As this compound naturally occurs in fish, it is important to test the levels to ensure the products are not further contaminated with formaldehyde to unsafe levels.
Silvia Low 8:35 pm on November 25, 2015 Permalink |
Well this is scary. I really hope that our CFIA/import inspection authorities are careful in what they allow into our food chain. It makes me wonder how they even detected the formaldehyde in the first place. Did customers complain of a different taste, or were they getting sick? Or did they just decide to one day inspect their fish products specifically for formaldehyde? It’s just such a random substance to test for in food.
MarinaMoon 11:40 am on November 26, 2015 Permalink |
It’s really scary what people would do just to make profit out of the products. There should be more strict regulations to restrict formaldehyde as well as other toxic products from being used as preservatives. What is the point of preserving food when it will result in negative consequences to people who consume them. This article indicates how food industries are more concerned about the presentation of the product than the benefits of the product to human health. Thus, we should take more consideration into what goes into the products that we will be consuming and also be ware that not all foods that has passed the inspection are safe to consume. On the brighter side, at least the researchers have identified the issue and hopefully would make amendments to prevent further use of formaldehyde as a preservative.
NorrisHuang 3:51 pm on December 1, 2015 Permalink |
I guess it is not that easy to detect formaldehyde in fish by tasting or smelling because fish (especially for imported/frozen fish as they are not as fresh) has this “fishy smell” which may mask the formaldehyde. Therefore it is really necessary to have strict government regulations regarding the permitted level of preservatives in fish. And I guess one way to avoid eating contaminated fish is to try eat local?
teewong 2:44 pm on December 11, 2015 Permalink |
First of all, you’ve got a very creative title, i like it a lot. I must say though, i am not surprised to hear about the extent that people will go about the methods in preserving food products. Unless someone really points out that certain food contains a certain hazardous chemical, we wouldn’t really second think about what types of dangerous chemicals we are consuming. Speaking from personal experience, sometimes when i feel a little bit nauseous or when i have a tiny migraine/headache, i would blame the lack of sleep or the amount of stress i’m going through. Never would I think it would be the food that is causing me to react in such ways. From now on, I will be more careful about the food I eat and i’ll be taking down notes for maybe when I seem to have reactions towards the food i consumed.
EmilyLi 9:07 pm on December 13, 2015 Permalink |
This is very interesting. I like that this article brought up the chemical agent that affect food safety, which gets less spotlight than more of the bacterial pathogens. As mentioned above, I too am not surprise to know that people would go as far as using hazardous chemical to preserve the foods. I guess this way they would be able to keep the fish meat in a better conditions, so consumers would be more willing to pay a higher price for them. However, many would not know that the expensive fish they buy would contain chemical that could harm them. Also even with the symptoms mention in the article there could be more complications that may not be discover yet. In my opinion, to limit the use of hazardous chemical in food would be having the government to set regulations as well as efficiently reinforcing them.
AngeliMalimban 9:17 pm on December 14, 2015 Permalink |
This is terrible to know that there are places in Asia that keep these practices in place. It makes me wonder how stringent the policies or the food inspectors of these respective countries are. I should be glad to live in Canada, where most of the fish is local or at least made within Canada (salmon, tuna, cod). Are there any other ways that fish imported from Asia last the long haul through to North America, Europe… etc?
EmilyChow 3:43 am on December 15, 2015 Permalink |
I can’t believe producers would add formaldehyde to products that people consume! In terms of food safety, it must be difficult to test for so many different contaminants and additives for all foods that are imported from foreign countries, but it’s important to find an effective method that tests for most contaminants efficiently. If formaldehyde-added fish is able to make its way to North American grocery shelves, then it makes me wonder what other contaminated foods are in grocery stores that we are not aware of.