Toxic Seafood ???

[Bearcarver]

I know very little about this stuff, but I thought anyone interested should see this short U-tube thing.

It concerns fish & seafood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F8x...eature=related


Bearcarver

 

[rdknb]

That was interesting and scary

 

[cuclimber]

I always ask my fish monger where the stuff comes from or check the labels. I honestly don't see much from developing nations, especially not 80%. The only stuff I eat is caught in or around the US and sometimes Nordic and Scandanavian countries or caught by me. I also try to keep an eye on the possible mercury intake and only keep fish from waters that have low or acceptable levels of chemicals and toxins. I also do my best to make sure the fish comes from sustainable or eco friendly practices and farms. I like the stuff and want to make sure its still around in twenty years. I wouldn't let this report scare anyone off from eating seafood. Its unbelievably healthy for you if youre smart about it.

 

[stevethetech]

Great link,

Food safety and point of origin are one of the things many of us take for granted when we are feeding out families. It drives my wife nuts that I will always check the and refuse asian farmed shrimp. I would rather buy from the Gulf coast.

In the neck of the woods (No Va) there is a never ending variety grocery stores with seafood sections, with fish of questionable origin and quality. Like with steak once you've had the good stuff it's hard to go back.

 

[Bearcarver]

This is slightly off topic, but I should be able to because I started this thread---LOL:

Last week we got a two pound bag of cooked shrimp from Giant. It was on a styrofoam dish with shrink wrap over it. I tore the shrink wrap open in the kitchen------------Wheeeeeeew--

---Smelled like a dead fish that was laying next to the bank for a week !
I took it out on the deck quick to get the stink out of my house, before my logs started warping. Once outside I tore off the labels. One of them said $4.99 for 2 pounds, sell by March 20 (it was 3-19-10). The other label said, "Double your money back". I threw the stinky shrimp in the woods in back of my house. I told the Mrs., "I'm not saving those shrimp for proof that they were spoiled, so if they don't give the money back, that's the way it goes". She took the labels in yesterday (1 week later), and they gave her double the money back.

It might help that she shops there almost every Friday morning.

Bearcarver

BTW: I got 16 pounds of pork loin there ($1.99 per lb), on the same day----It was fine & is getting smoked tomorrow.

 

[deltadude]

Where I live there are a lot of choices for groceries and their respective seafood selections. I do clam chowder 3 or 4 times a year, I have gone to all the markets and generally they have identical product. It has to do with what is available at that time. The result is each grocery store needs to keep their fish/seafood case stocked, and thus rely on their suppliers who are basically all buying from the same sources.

The key is being a knowledgeable purchaser, it is a must to learn what is bad and what isn't. Buy only from reputable sources, carefully examine each piece of fish for smell, texture, meat firmness, color, and know what all that means. Same for shell fish, especially clams, oysters, etc. I have had to take back a bag of clams when I found too many with cracked shells, and many were dead.

 

[ak1]

Also, sometime the issue is the local store. With margins as low as they are, and competition as tight as it is, stores try to get every penny they can.

 

[scubadoo97]

I find in retail grocery stores you are not likely to be able to touch or smell your seafood until you get it home. I was looking at some whole pompano once and asked the guy behind the counter if I could smell the fish. He was taken back by my request and with reluctance picked up the fish and held it over the counter but warned "if you touch it I'll have to throw it away"

My first thought was all the hands that touched it before it got in that case.

As far as origin,
Around 2008 country-of-origin labeling laws for food were put into place.


"Strongly opposed to mandatory labeling are food retailers, wholesalers
and processors, and major U.S. trading partners, such as Australia, Canada,
Mexico and New Zealand. All view such mandates as protectionist trade
barriers. The U.S. food industry, including many producers, is also
concerned about the multibillion-dollar cost to implement a COOL mandate.
A cost that ultimately will be borne by consumers."

 

[aeroforce100]

Don't mean to make light about food and toxins, bur this just struck me as funny as He++!

 

[cuclimber]

Yeah, It sounds kind of ridiculous when I reread it, but these days I check every river or lake before I fish it to make sure the waters are clean enough to eat the catch. Unfortunately there are numerous states that don't have a single fishable body of water with fish that are within edible standards. Most days I prefer fish that are less than 50% mercury...

 

[mballi3011]

Now we eat a good amount of fish and seafood all together here in Fla. But the fish and seafood I buy are from only 2 places and I have known the folks that own those places for many many years. But I do see forgien seafood alot in the stores and have nevr bought any and really don't plan on it either. I Do know the shrimper I get my shrimp from too. So I always try to buy, eat and cook only fresh local seafood or I go for the beef.

 

[deltadude]

Years ago living in So Calif. a good friend calls me up, and wants to go fishing in the Salton Sea, famous for big Corvina and Tilapia, there are days where every cast is a pretty big fish. However we had late winter storms and flooding occurred breaching the Mexicali tiny dam. Mexicali is south of the US/Mex boarder, the Salton Sea is a basin below sea level, thus instead of like the Colorado river which runs south, the river from Mexicali drained into the Salton Sea. Due to the flooding raw sewage from not only Mexican residential but also industrial sewage was flowing into the Salton Sea. The lower end of the Salton Sea was closed for a couple of months (SS is 35 mi long). In addition the way the Salton Sea gets its water is from Imperial Valley irrigation run off which is heavy in fertilizer chemicals, (high in Selenium and other salts). In fact the Salton Sea is saltier than the ocean.

I thought I would call Imperial Valley public health dept. I got lucky and actually talked to the guy responsible for reports, and was involved in the testing. At first he would only give me the official skinny, that the Salton Sea by Gov. standards was now safe. Then I asked him specific question about toxicity levels on certain chemicals, and especially at the lower end of the lake. The story revealed a public health hazard, but because of recreation and local politics, the readings were averaged with the other half of lake making it overall safe. He confirmed that fish were dying and that feces and toilet paper were floating on the surface, that the bottom of the lake at from the river entrance out about 5 miles was one giant sludge muck of contaminated waste build up. The final question, "How many kids do you have? A: 3. Would you take them swimming in the Salton Sea? Would you feed fish caught in the Salton Sea to your children? NO!

I called my buddy and told him what I found out. The Sport Fishing News paper we both subscribed too had fantastic stories of 20-30 lb Corvina being caught. He couldn't resist he was going, he called 2 days later, they had a huge catch almost all the fish over 10 lbs, he wanted to give me about 50 lbs of fish. I thanked him but gave him a firm NO.

About a 6 months later 60 Minutes did a piece on the Salton Sea

 

[Bearcarver]

deltadude,
That's strange, your buddy & others were catching a lot of Corvina in the Salton Sea. Then I read an article that has the following "Note".
It appears they were not completely unsuccessful.

Note: The Shortfin Corvina was unsuccessfully transplanted into the Salton Sea in 1952.
Link:
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/shtcorv/shtcorv.htm


Bearcarver