TWO restaurants in Nanshan District were caught selling fish contaminated with malachite green, an anti-fungal chemical that is carcinogenic and banned in the aquaculture industry, Shenzhen TV reported yesterday.

A total of 4,962 batches of food in the catering sector were sampled and inspected by the city’s market and quality supervision administration recently, according to the report. Among the 55 batches of unqualified samples, malachite green residue was detected in some of the aquatic products.

During a field visit to the two restaurants, one in Longhai Commercial Plaza and the other in the MixC World, the Shenzhen TV reporter found that the same types of fish that were tainted with the malachite green residue were still being sold in the eateries.

The restaurant in Longhai Commercial Plaza claimed that the fish they were selling was absolutely beyond reproach and would not contain malachite green.

Chen Shijun, a doctor with Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, said the banned malachite green is still frequently used because it is effective at battling diseases in fish and cheap to manufacture. However, the substance poses significant health risks to the human body.

For this recurrent irregularity, Li Jichao, a deputy to the Municipal People’s Congress (MPC), called on relevant government departments to strengthen supervision over the entire chain, from production to sale, and develop more mature alternatives to improve detection technology.

In 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture of China clearly stipulated that malachite green is a toxic chemical and is prohibited from being used in any edible animal. (Zhang Yu)