3 UK retailers pull out tainted Vietnamese catfish
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Three leading British retailers have withdrawn Vietnamese catfish imported by a local company after some of the fish was found to have some illegal substances generally used to increase their weight, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporter and Processors (VASEP).
Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, ranked 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the UK, pulled the catfish products off their shelves in Seaham, a small town in Durham County, after detecting excess levels of sodium chloride and phosphate.
The products had been imported by Cumbrian Seafood Group, the VASEP said citing newswire Intrafish.
The substances were discovered by the Trading Standards Department of North East Lincolnshire following a random check.
It found nine out of 10 imported catfish samples contaminated with the substances which enable the fish to absorb more water and increase weight. The water evaporates when the fish is cooked.
Tesco stopped selling the fish since the middle of last month after an inspection by the importer Cumbrian found they failed to meet quality standards.
Asda, owned by Walmart, said it withdrew the product more than two weeks ago after conducting its own inspection.
Morrisons stopped after receiving a request from the importer.
Cumbrian is the only catfish importer of Vinh Hoan Co which is headquartered in the Mekong Delta’s Dong Thap Province, Vietnam.
Vinh Hoan has a GlobalGAP certification and is currently taking part in ASC certification programs run by the World Wide Fund for Nature and hopes to obtain it by year-end.
