Rumors of nuclear contamination of seafood did not affect sales

For several days, some citizens’ mobile sms and Weibo have received rumors of “sunky seafood” and many people are worried about the safety of seafood. In this regard, the five departments of the Municipal Agricultural Commission, the Municipal Food and Drug Administration and the Municipal Commission of Commerce urgently clarified the rumors. The reporter visited several fisheries markets yesterday and found that the current price and sales volume of seafood products are stable and no abnormalities have occurred.

Steady sales in the seafood market The reporters saw a trade market on Suixi Road yesterday that many people in the aquatic products stalls were buying seafood. The stallholders said that the sales of seafood products have not been affected by the earthquake in Japan. However, the stall owner also complained that seafood prices were nearly 20% more expensive this year than in the same period last year, thus affecting the overall shipping rate.

The reporter learned from the Oriental International Fisheries Center and the Tongchuan Road Aquatic Products Wholesale Market that there has been no abnormality in the prices and sales of seafood products. The relevant person in charge of the fish market of Tongchuan Road said that there are few aquatic products from Japan, and the ingredients of many Japanese restaurants in Shanghai are ordered from here, but the origin is basically Norway, Canada, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

According to Wang Decai, assistant president of the East International Fisheries Center, the seafood products of the Aquatic Center mainly come from Zhejiang, China, Shandong, Liaoning, and Jiangsu. Some imported aquatic products also come from the Middle East, Thailand and Vietnam. At present, the price of seafood products at the Aquatic Center has not fluctuate due to the earthquake in Japan. However, he said that according to the price monitoring of the Aquatic Center, the average price of major chilled fish in January of this year was 27.84 yuan/kg, the average price of major frozen seawater fish was 24.92 yuan/kg, and the average price of major fresh fish was 41.88 yuan/kg, both up about 20% from last year.

Most of the products sold in the market reporters saw many supermarkets in Japan, king crab, squid sashimi, golden threads, yellow croaker, etc. are for sale. Some citizens are concerned that the radiation caused by the earthquake in Japan will affect the safety of seafood products. In response, Fan Shuilin, secretary-general of the Shanghai Fisheries Industry Association, stated that Japan is a large importer of aquatic products and not a major exporter. Members of the public can buy only a few species of aquatic products from Japan, such as saury, crab, and squid. Wang Decai said that there are three main types of seafood imported from Japan, fresh, chilled, and frozen, of which livelihood is very rare, mainly after the two. In general, it takes a week for chilled fish to be brought to Shanghai and the market for frozen products is longer. "The seafood imported from Japan currently on the market are all in Shanghai before the earthquake and there will be no quality problems."

In addition, the main varieties of seafood imported from Japan are deep-sea fish such as tuna and squid, and the fishing area is not in the Sea of ​​Japan, but in the Pacific Ocean, so nuclear radiation will not have too much impact on such seafood. Moreover, import of seafood needs customs declaration, and it can be listed after passing the quarantine inspection of related departments.

Low prices in the off-season It is understood that the sales of seafood products enter the peak season during the spring vacation each year, and the prices will rise to a considerable extent. From March to September after the Spring Festival, they are the off-season sales of seafood. "This time, in addition to festivals, the price of seafood will be relatively stable. Now seafood prices are at a relatively low level during the year." Wang Decai said that low prices are also a good time for citizens to buy "fresh".

In response to recent rumors such as “spontaneous seafood contamination” and “don’t eat seafood” that appeared on mobile phone text messages and microblogs, the reporter also interviewed the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Oceanography, the Municipal Agriculture Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration Bureau. It is understood that the current supply of seafood in this city has not been affected by the nuclear leakage in Japan, and the public can feel comfortable eating it.

The relevant food supervision authorities in this Municipality will strengthen the detection of radioactive materials for aquatic products and related foods. At present, all imported seafood in this Municipality will pass the “nuclear inspection”.