Infinite Unknown

- Today’s Seafood Special: Pig Manure, Antibiotics, and Diarrhea Bugs (Mother Jones):

Next time you tuck into a Red Lobster “Endless Shrimp” special or score some $7-per-pound salmon at a supermarket, consider this: You’re very likely eating imported seafood raised on a factory-style farm in Asia—and it almost certainly was never inspected by the Food and Drug Administration on its way into the country and onto your plate.

Is that…safe? Big retailers like Walmart and restaurant chains like Darden (owner of Red Lobster) say yes, in part because some of the seafood they buy bears the Best Aquaculture Practices label. Who issues that label? The Global Aquaculture Alliance, an industry endeavor—its board consists of representatives from (you guessed it) Darden, as well as Cargill, the Chilean salmon industry, and a large farmed-shrimp importer called Eastern Fish Company. Not surprisingly, BAP standards for farmed fish placed near the bottom (16 of 20) in a 2012 ranking of aquaculture labels by the University of Victoria’s Seafood Ecology Research Group. (Darden says it independently tests its shrimp for contaminants but declined to share its results; Walmart did not answer our questions about inspections.)

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Tags: Antibiotics, Diarrhoea, FDA, Fish, Food, Global News, Government, Health, Politics, Seafood, U.S.

- Asian Seafood Raised on Pig Feces Approved for U.S. Consumers (Bloomberg, Oct 11, 2012):

Using ice made from tap water in Vietnam is dangerous because it can spread bacteria to the shrimp, microbiologist Mansour Samadpour says, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its November issue.

“Those conditions — ice made from dirty water, animals near the farms, pigs — are unacceptable,” says Samadpour, whose company, IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group, specializes in testing water for shellfish farming.

Ngoc Sinh has been certified as safe by Geneva-based food auditor SGS SA, says Nguyen Trung Thanh, the company’s general director. Continue reading »

Tags: Contamination, Food, Government, Health, Politics, Seafood, U.S.

- Greenpeace criticises Japan radiation screening (AFP, Oct. 20, 2011):

TOKYO — Greenpeace called on Tokyo to toughen radiation screening and food labelling rules on Thursday after it said low levels of radiation had been detected in seafood sold at Japanese stores.

The environmental pressure group said it tested 60 seafood samples bought at stores in eastern Japan operated by five major supermarket chains and found 34 of them with radioactive caesium-134 and caesium-137.

The survey discovered readings of up to 88 becquerel per kilogram with the radiation believed to be from the ongoing nuclear accident.

“While the samples are well below the 500 becquerel per kilogram limit set by the authorities, the contaminated seafood still represents a health risk, especially to pregnant women and children, and it is being distributed over a wide area,” said Wakao Hanaoka, Greenpeace Japan oceans campaigner.

The Japanese standard compares with a 150 becquerel per kilogram limit in Ukraine after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the group said.

“More concerning, however, is that there is no labelling that notifies consumers if the seafood had been screened, making it impossible for them to make informed decisions,” Hanaoka said in a statement.

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Tags: Contamination, Environment, Food, Fukushima, Global News, Government, Greenpeace, Health, Japan, Nuclear, Nuclear reactors, Politics, Radiation, Seafood

- Japanese Government to Use Seafood, Goods Made in Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate as Aid to Developing Nations as Part of ODA (EX-SKF, Sep. 18, 2011):

I reported this already in late June, but now it’s a formal request from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the appropriation for the 3rd supplementary budget for the fiscal 2011.

Back in June, the talk was only for processed seafood like canned fish. Now, as part of the ODA (Official Development Assistance) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to use 5 billion yen (US$65 million) to buy up canned fish, wheelchairs and other industrial products from the disaster-affected areas and offered them to developing nations, says NHK News Japanese (9/19/2011).

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Tags: Food, Fukushima, Global News, Government, Health, Japan, Nuclear, Nuclear reactors, Politics, Radiation, Seafood

I told you even before the Gulf of Mexico and the Fukushima disasters not to eat any kind of seafood.

YouTube Added: 16.08.2011

Download Trisha James’ Spreadsheet calculations http://www.espbotanicals.com/environmentalpoison/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/T… and help us continue our efforts to document BP’s damage to the Gulf at http://www.hope5.com The seafood isn’t safe! The oil is still here and so are we!

PS – EVENTUALLY this link will be working: http://bit.ly/unsafe-seafood as posted in the video.

Tags: Environment, EPA, FDA, Food, Global News, Government, Gulf of Mexico, Health, Obama administration, Politics, Seafood, U.S.

Imported seafood from Japan is screened for radiation by a chef at a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong Tuesday, March 22, to make sure the food is safe to eat. China, Japan’s largest trading partner, has ordered testing of imports of Japanese food. The World Health Organization has urged Japan to adopt stricter measures and reassure the public after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began leaking radiation March 11.
Kin Cheung/ AP

- Japan says high seawater radiation levels are no cause for alarm (Christian Science Monitor):

Japanese authorities began testing for radiation in seawater near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Tuesday, but officials stressed that the elevated levels are no cause for worry.

See also:

- Japan’s Science Ministry: Radiation Now Exceeds 400 Times Normal 40 km From Fukushima

- Japan Nuclear Crisis: Radioactive Iodine Content In Sea Water At 126.7 Times Limit, Caesium At 24.8 Times Limit

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Tags: Environment, Food, Global News, Government, Health, Japan, Nuclear, Nuclear reactors, Politics, Radiation, Seafood

All seafood is toxic, especially if it is coming from the Gulf of Mexico:

- Louisiana Senator Blasts President Obama About COREXIT Poisoning of the Gulf

- Gulf: 6 Dangerous Chemicals Found In Blood Tests By 3 Separate Labs (Video)

- Multiple Independent Lab Tests Confirm Oil In Gulf Shrimp

- Marine Toxicologist Dr. Riki Ott: ‘People Now Dropping Dead’ In the Gulf

- Scientists Found 40-Fold Increase In Carcinogenic Compounds In Gulf

- Blood Tests on Gulf Residents Show Benzene And Other Hydrocarbons

- FDA admits NOT testing for MERCURY, ARSENIC, or any other TOXIC HEAVY METALS in Sea Food

- Scientists: Evidence Of Gulf Oil And Dispersant Mix Making Its Way Into The Foodchain

US military purchases Gulf of Mexico seafood, boosting an industry battered by oil spill

Workers shuck raw oysters at Motivatit Seafood in Houma, La. Sales of oysters, fish and other seafood products from the Gulf of Mexico dropped dramatically after last year’s BP oil spill. (David Rae Morris)

Sales of Gulf of Mexico seafood are getting a boost from the military after being hammered by last year’s BP oil spill, which left consumers fearing that the water’s bounty had been tainted.

Ten products, including fish, shrimp, oysters, crab cakes, and packaged Cajun dishes such as jambalaya and shrimp etouffee are being promoted at 72 base commissaries along the East Coast, said Milt Ackerman, president of Military Solutions Inc., which is supplying seafood to the businesses.

Gulf seafood sales fell sharply after a BP gulf well blew out in April, spewing millions of gallons of oil into the sea. Consumers have long feared that fish, oysters and other products could be tainted by oil and chemicals used to fight the spill, although extensive testing has indicated the food is safe. The perception has lingered – along with the poor sales.

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Tags: Contamination, Food, Global News, Government, Gulf of Mexico, Health, Military, Politics, Seafood, toxic, toxicity, U.S.