“The American seafood industry is being flooded with products imported from developing countries, many of which have proven to be contaminated with banned chemicals, poisons, carcinogens and high levels of antibiotics”, according to a report by ABC News.
In America today, over 80 percent of our seafood is imported, mainly from Third World countries, including China, which have little or NO food safety standards. The main problem is that the FDA inspects only 1% of all imported seafood the U.S. imports, therefore allowing harmful antibiotics, bacteria, fungicides and other chemicals into our stores and restaurants. Without proper testing, we don’t actually know what harmful things we are eating. More and more articles are being published about the dangers of eating imported farm raised fish and the lack of safety standards and quality. Fish, which has long been considered a healthy food choice for protein and omega-3 fats, is now barley fit for human consumption as levels of pollution increase.
Unfortunately, not only imported fish can be harmful. According to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study, mercury contamination was found in EVERY fish sampled in nearly 300 streams across the United States! UGH! More than 25% of these fish contained mercury at levels exceeding the EPA’s standard – a level that may still be too high to protect your health in the long run.
Did you know that since 1990, the rate of mercury contamination in tuna and other Pacific fish has increased 30 percent? More shocking is that about 75 percent of all human exposure to mercury comes from eating contaminated fish. Now more than ever, testing our bodies for heavy metals like mercury and other toxins is even more important to our health and well being. Have you been tested?
In spite of all the mounting evidence and warnings, tuna is still a favorite among many Americans. Hopefully, this soon will change as more and more people become aware of the even more dangerous seafood problem…FISH FRAUD! Swapping cheaper fish for the more desired and more expensive varieties. Mislabeling and flagrant bait & switch practices (pun intended) is the latest issue which is causing serious problems for us American fish consumers.
According to the nonprofit ocean protection group, “Oceana”, roughly 60 percent of the fish labeled “tuna” in the US is not actually tuna. This “massive seafood fraud” was publicized back in Feb. 2013, when Oceana published the results of their two year investigation focused on this fraudulent practice.
In this study, between 2010 and 2012, Oceana collected more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states, which were then genetically tested to determine if they were correctly labeled. What they discovered was that an alarming one-third (33 percent) of the fish samples were mislabeled; substituted for cheaper, more readily available fish varieties. Bottom line? Be smart about your food choices and invest in yourself and your family.
So what can you do? We recommend you…
Ask questions. Consumers should ask more questions, including what kind of fish it is, if it is wild or farm raised, and where, when and ow it was caught.
Get tested! See if toxin build up is the cause of your health issues. By removing heavy metals and toxins, the body is able to function better.
Check the price. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is, and you are likely purchasing a completely different species than what is on the label.
Purchase the whole fish. When possible, purchase the whole fish, which makes it more difficult to swap one species for another.
