Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ikan Pangas (Dory Fish) from Mekong River, Vietnam

Do you eat this frozen fish called Pangas ? ( Pangasius, Vietnamese Rver Cobbler, White Catfish, Gray Sole )

It is Industrially farmed in Vietnam along the Mekong River , Pangas or whatever they're calling it, has only been recently introduced to the French market. However, in a very short amount of time, it has grown in popularity in France . The French are slurping up Pangas like it's their last meal of soup noodles. They are very, very affordable (cheap), are sold in filets with no bones and they have a neutral (bland) flavor and texture; many would compare it to cod and sole, only much cheaper. But as tasty as some people may find it, there's, in fact, something hugely unsavory about it. I hope the information provided here will serve as very important information for you and your future choices. Here's why I think it is better left in the shops (and not on your dinner plates).

1. Pangas are teeming with high levels of poisons and bacteria (Industrial effluents, arsenic, and toxic and hazardous by-products of the growing industrial sector, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), metal contaminants, chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) ).

The reasons are that the Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers on the planet and this is where pangas are farmed and industries along the river dump chemicals and industrial waste directly into it. To note: a friend lab tests these fish and tells us to avoid eating them due to high amounts of contamination. Regardless of the reports and recommendations against selling them, the supermarkets still sell them to the general public knowing they are contaminated.

2. They freeze Pangas in contaminated river water.

3. Pangas are not environmentally sustainable, a most unsustainable food you could possibly eat - 'Buy local' means creating the least amount of environmental harm as possible. This is the very opposite end of the spectrum of sustainable consumerism. Pangas are raised in Vietnam . Pangas are fed food that comes from Peru ( more on that below ), their hormones ( which are injected into the female Pangas ) come from China . ( More about that below ) and finally, they are transported from Vietnam to France . That's not just a giant carbon foot print, that's a carbon continent of a foot print.


4. There's nothing natural about Pangas - They're fed dead fish remnants and bones, dried and ground into a flour, from South America , manioc (cassava) and residue from soy and grains. This kind of nourishment doesn't even remotely resemble what they eat in nature. But what it does resemble is the method of feeding mad cows (cows were fed cows, remember?). What they feed pangas is completely unregulated so there are most likely other dangerous substances and hormones thrown into the mix. The pangas grow at a speed light ( practically! ) : 4 times faster than in nature Kso it makes you wonder what exactly is in their food? Your guess is as good as mine.

5. Pangas are injected with hormones derived from urine. I don't know how someone came up with this one out but they've discovered that if they inject female Pangas with hormones made from the dehydrated urine of pregnant women, the female Pangas grow much quicker and produce eggs faster (one Panga can lay approximately 500,000 eggs at one time). Essentially, they're injecting fish with hormones (they come all of the way from a pharmaceutical company in China) to speed up the process of growth and reproduction. That isn't good. Some of you might not mind eating fish injected with dehydrated pee, so if you don't, good for you, but just consider the rest of the reasons to NOT eat it.


6. Don't be lured in by insanely cheap price of Pangas. Is it worth risking your health and the health of your family?

7. Buying Pangas supports unscrupulous, greedy evil corporations and food conglomerates that don't care about the health and well-being of human beings. They only are concerned about selling as many pangas as possible to unsuspecting consumers. These corporations only care about selling and making more money at whatever cost to the public.

8. Pangas will make you sick- If (for reasons in no.1 above) you don't get immediately ill with vomiting, diarrhea and effects from severe food poisoning, congratulations, you have an iron stomach! But you're still ingesting POISON not poisson.

Final important note: Because of the prodigious amount of availability of Pangas, be warned that they will certainly find their way into other foods: surimi (those pressed fish things, imitation crab sticks), fish sticks, fish terrines, and probably in some pet foods.

Marco's comment:
One way to prevent ourselves from eating these poisoning foods will be say no to frozen meats and sea foods.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Panga.....¿El pescado "for the future"?

Marco said...

@Anonymous, what does 'El pescado' means?

Anonymous said...

The fish

Anonymous said...

Dory Fish healthy?

Marco said...

Dory is fish is a healthy food provided it is not poisoned by the environment.

Dory fish from Mekong River, Vietnam as per the above article is definitely poisoned by the contaminated environment.

Anonymous said...

This is hoax, my family has consumed this fish , so far we are fine.

Marco said...

Hi Anonymous, I suppose as long as the source is not from Mekong river of Vietnam, it shall be fine. Thus, it is important to know where does the fish come from.

Anonymous said...

¿comienza el declive del panga?

Anonymous said...

Is there any truth in this allegation of this Ikan Pangas (Dory fish)not fit for consumption? If the fish have toxin in it, surely our Laboratory test by health ministry or others can detect it! Or is it just a hoax created by those European fishermen whose expensive fish market has been threatened by this cheap and popular fish from another part of the world?
What have our consumer associations to say?

ROJAK said...

if dory fish is not from mekong so it is okay?

Marco said...

Hi Rojak, Dory fish is definitely safe for consumption. According to the source, it is the Mekong river which is highly polluted that cause the Dory fish to contain toxic.

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