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Test 6 percent of edible fish loaded with carcinogenic drugs
In spot checks, official investigators found drug residues in fish. It was particularly negative that numerous fish contained traces of the drug "malachite green". This remedy has long been suspected of being carcinogenic. Precisely for this reason it is forbidden to use the drug in fish farming. Apparently, many breeders do not follow this law.
Carcinogenic drug in the food fish and shrimp
"There should be fish once a week," according to many health experts. Rightly so, because fish is rich in unsaturated fats and can prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes or cancer. However, according to the latest reports of the Federal Government, doubt is justified here. Because according to a report of the magazine "Der Spiegel", the "number of fish contaminated with antimicrobial drugs is alarmingly high".
In the investigation studies, the examiners of the Federal Office "Residues of the drug malachite green demonstrated". The Federal Government was then presented with an "alarming report" which shows how high the residues found in fish and shellfish from breeding farms are. Alarming also because malachite green has been banned for some time, as there is clear evidence that the drug is carcinogenic. In addition, the testers also found residues of antibiotic drugs.
In fish studies, investigators have detected residues of the drug malachite green. The product is suspected of causing cancer and is not authorized in food fish. Decomposition products of various antibiotics were also found. In veterinary medicine, it is used to treat infectious diseases of fish with fungi, bacteria, worms and unicellular organisms, e.g. used in Ichthyophthiriose (Weisspünktchenkrankheit). Because there is still no nearly equally well-functioning agent, it is apparently still widely used despite prohibition. Especially in countries outside the EU, the funds are still not banned.
Six percent of the fishery products studied contaminated
Sampling identified 183 fish containing pharmacologically active substances as part of the European Rapid Alert System for Food, as the magazine reports. Predominantly, these were remedy residues containing the fish medicine malachite green. The remedy should provoke the development of cancer and damage the genome sustainably. The remedy is on the index and may not be explicitly used on fish intended for later consumption.
In addition, degradation products of different antibiotics and antiseptics were also measured in the laboratory. In crustaceans even more cases have been proven. Here, the experts are said to have found a find 306 times. The data analysis comes from sampling of salmon, trout or shrimp from aquaculture in the period from 2005 to the end of March 2015. According to it, an average of 6 percent of the animals are contaminated.
Contaminated feed?
The question remains how the prohibited substances got into the fish. Did the breeders mix the product by themselves or was the feed already contaminated? From which breeding plants the contaminated fish originated, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture could not say. "But it will be tested," promised a spokesman on request. It was also unclear whether fish from organic farms was also affected.
"This mass use of drugs provides resistance and endangers the health of people," warned the member of the Bundestag Oliver Krischer (The Greens) the "mirror". For the politician, the results are a clear indication that these funds are used illegally in large numbers. "This is mixed into the feed," says environmentalist Claudia Papst. Appropriate controls should be strengthened by the authorities. "The health consequences are hardly predictable. If cancer develops, it is difficult to prove by what. "Therefore, it must be a matter of course to minimize the risks. (Sb)
Image. PhotoHiero / pixelio.de