"True and False Salmon" Season 2: Self-Discipline, or Profit? The association and the enterprise joined hands to determine the calibration, and the rainbow trout became a "true salmon"

Salmon for sale in a cold cabinet in a wet market. (Southern Weekend reporter Feng Fei/photo)

The "true and false salmon" battle ushered in the second season - industry associations worked with aquatic companies to develop group standards to classify rainbow trout as salmon. Is the industry seeking self-discipline and regulation, or is the vested interest seeking the blessing of industry rules?

Cui He, president of the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association, responded in the latest response: The output of rainbow trout produced in China is about 40,000 tons, and according to the group standard, less than one-third of the amount of qualified raw rainbow trout is reached.

"Before the release of the group standards, I said that as long as the public opinion is released, we should do a good job of monitoring in all aspects." On August 14, 2018, Cui He, president of the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association, sighed to southern weekend reporters.

At the moment, he and his association are in the crater of public opinion.

Four days ago, at the China International Salmon Industry Development Forum held in Qinghai, the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association established a salmon branch and officially announced the group standard of "Raw Salmon".

After the "true and false salmon" controversy in May, this freshly baked group standard explicitly classified rainbow trout as salmon.

The smoke of war suddenly rose again. Some people in the industry find it incredibly opposed, calling it "referring to deer as horses". Cui He stressed that this is "forcing enterprises to strictly control the production link".

"According to the statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the output of rainbow trout produced in China is about 40,000 tons, and according to this standard, less than one-third of the amount of qualified raw rainbow trout, that is, more than 10,000 tons." Cui said.

<h3>Justify the name, argue again</h3>

The controversy three months ago began with a news story that said that 1/3 of the salmon in the domestic market came from Longyang gorge in Qinghai. Subsequently, netizens questioned that the salmon produced in Longyang Gorge was not a salmon with red roots, but rainbow trout, and popular science people pointed out that eating freshwater rainbow trout raw has the risk of contracting parasitic diseases. The China Fisheries Association and the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association made urgent voices.

After 3 months, the group standard can be described as the second season of rainbow trout's "Battle of the Right Name".

"The standard was completed with the support and guidance of the Science and Technology Division of the Fisheries and Fisheries Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the State Administration of Market Regulation." Cui He said.

In this 6-page group standard, the inspection methods, labeling, packaging, transportation and storage of raw salmon are specified. The most striking is the interpretation of "salmon": the general name for salmonids, including Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, silver salmon, king salmon, red salmon, autumn salmon, white salmon and so on.

In the view of many experts, salmon (Salmon) and trout (Trout) refer to different fish, salmon generally refers to Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon. In the previous controversy, many doubts pointed out that domestic rainbow trout farming enterprises were forcibly "paying a large amount".

The "Raw Salmon" group standard requires that the pre-packaging should be marked with the origin and species name of the raw fish, and the Chinese correct name should be added after the trade name of "salmon", such as salmon (Atlantic salmon) and salmon (rainbow trout).

After the standard was introduced, Zhou Zhuocheng, a Weibo blogger certified as chairman of the China Fisheries Association's Native Aquatic Organisms and Water Ecology Professional Committee, said that high-quality triploid rainbow trout cooked food is no less than Atlantic salmon and is inexpensive and good. However, the interest and the price difference exist objectively, and it remains to be seen whether the seller will follow the standard to clearly identify.

Zhong Kai, deputy director of the Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center of Kexin, told Southern Weekend that this move will further cause consumer misunderstanding, "more people are worried about eating fake salmon."

Many experts have said that this group standard is only a small group internal standard issued by an association and several related enterprises, and has not yet reached the industry standard, and has nothing to do with the national standard, without any legal effect.

"What kind of standard is the authoritative standard?" It is used by all businesses. Some of the standards developed by our association have a 100% acceptance rate in the recommended standards. Cui He responded.

It is mentioned in the preparation note that when the industry was prepared for solicitation, a total of 59 reply opinions were received from 22 units, 27 opinions were adopted, and 25 were not adopted. In addition to associations, the standard drafting units are all enterprises, and the participating third-party research institutions are not mentioned in the preparation notes. "There are too many experts consulted, such as the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, the Heilongjiang Fisheries Research Institute, the university professors and so on. Many suggestions have been made for the name of rainbow trout salmon and the test criteria for parasites. ”

However, according to the Administrative Measures for the Formulation of Group Standards of the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association, the time for group standards to be publicized is 15 days. However, from the time of the release of the news on the official website of the association to the deadline for the announcement, there are only 4 days.

Cui He told Southern Weekend that this is to coincide with the time of the conference, but the group's standard has not yet been officially issued. "Before I write, I will read all the public opinion feedback."

<h3>Is it self-discipline, or profit</h3>

Fan Xubing, an aquatic expert who has been engaged in salmon and imported seafood marketing for many years, said that he "suggested that the salmon branch should be called the salmon trout branch" and that the standard should be called the "raw salmon trout" group standard, "so as not to cause public conceptual confusion and not to cause controversy."

At present, the classification of group standards also points to the 13 companies involved in the drafting of group standards.

According to the statistics of the Southern Weekend reporter, among the 13 drafting units in addition to the association, 7 enterprises represented by Qinghai Minze Longyangxia Ecological Aquaculture Co., Ltd. are engaged in rainbow trout farming, and there are also 5 enterprises engaged in the production, processing and distribution of seafood products, including Atlantic salmon, such as Dalian Ruichi Group and Shanghai Fei Aode Food, as well as Aile Aquatic Products (Qingdao) Co., Ltd., which specializes in fish feed.

The main figure of the last round of public opinion storm: Qinghai Minze Longyangxia Ecological Aquaculture Co., Ltd., a salmon farming enterprise that claims to be the largest and most productive salmon farming enterprise in Asia, its chairman Ying Miyan also served as the first president of the salmon branch.

According to official information, the China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association is a national social organization affiliated to the former Ministry of Agriculture, with nearly 400 leading members composed of vice presidents, executive directors and directors, most of whom are related enterprises in the aquatic production chain.

The industry association led the stakeholder member enterprises to modify the definition of salmon objectively and reasonably, which also attracted great controversy. The public questioned whether this was paving the way for the association to sell "raw rainbow trout" for businesses.

Cui He said that the background of the introduction of the group standard is first of all that raw aquatic products should have Chinese standards, rather than blindly saying that imported salmon must be good. In addition, for Chinese production enterprises, from the perspective of safety, whether it is physical and chemical indicators, parasites, microorganisms must be stipulated, which is a constraint on producers.

A senior aquatic industry insider who asked for anonymity revealed that with reference to the promotion case of the Norwegian Atlantic salmon industry in China, China's salmon industry needs an integrated public organization to assume the main responsibility for industrial specifications and product promotion, and it is also easier for the public to communicate and regulate the industry. The establishment of the branch is the first step in the industry's spontaneous standardization to complete the industrial transformation.

Zhou Zhuocheng believes that the impact of group standards on the market is two-way. "If the market acceptance is good, the more cost-effective Chilean triploid rainbow trout may also be imported in large quantities to impact the market." Another layer of meaning is that retail investors who do not meet the standards in China may also come up with more unreliable quality products to pass off as the products of leading enterprises, and problems may lead to large enterprises and associations carrying the pot together, with potential hidden dangers. ”

<h3>Do group standards ensure the safety of raw rainbow trout</h3>?

According to the group standard, raw salmon raw materials must meet the following conditions: they should meet the health standards for fresh and frozen animal aquatic products, and artificial puffed compound feed should be used throughout breeding. Raw materials that do not have parasite source risk control measures should be frozen in any of the following ways to kill parasites: -20 °C below 24 hours of continuous freezing, -35 °C below 15 hours of continuous freezing.

At the same time, the preparation instructions for the preparation of "raw salmon" (submitted for approval) wrote: The artificial breeding mode of salmon controls the parasitic infection route during its growth process, of which the risk of parasitic infection in the culture of Atlantic salmon is negligible... Based on the use of puffed feeds in farmed fish, the pathway to the transmission of parasites in the food chain is blocked without the need for cryotherapy.

In other words, the group standard stipulates that freshwater rainbow trout that use artificially puffed compound feed throughout the breeding process does not need to be frozen. Rainbow trout that are not up to standard are frozen to kill the parasites.

"This idea orientation will lead to a higher risk of parasitic infection." Chen Shaohong, deputy director of the Health Education and Testing Center of the Institute for The Prevention and Control of Parasitic Diseases (CDC) of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that whether salmon is infected with parasites is not only related to the farmed feed, but also has a close relationship with the culture environment. Despite the use of artificially extruded compound feed culture, there is also a risk of parasitic infection if the rearing environment is contaminated with various animal excreta.

Cui He said that the conference also discussed related topics such as strengthening corporate management, "Our next step may be to introduce a Chinese raw salmon source base." According to this standard, it depends on whether the source of the parasite is controllable or uncontrollable, whether there is a whole process of using puffed feed and appearance inspection. These certified enterprises, it has risk management. ”

Previously, when Qinghai Minze Longyangxia Ecological Aquaculture Co., Ltd. conducted parasite testing for freshwater rainbow trout, it only examined more heterocephalis in marine fish, which attracted ridicule from professionals.

Chen Jiaxu, director of the CDC Health Education and Testing Center, told Southern Weekend that according to the pathogenicity of the human body, the detection of parasites in seawater aquatic products mainly detects taenia larvae and isaacs. For the detection of fish in freshwater aquatic products, the Schizothorta lucidum broad-segmented tapeworm, the Chinese mycodonid flux cyst and the jaw-mouth nematode larvae should be detected. Both marine salmon and freshwater cultured rainbow trout must undergo rigorous parasite, other pathogenic microorganisms and harmful substances to ensure food safety.

The group standard mentions that in the parasite index, the detection requirements of flucetic cysts, nematodes larvae, and tapeworm schizocephalic larvae are "not detectable". This is the same as the national standard for animal aquatic products, that is, the requirements for parasites in raw animal aquatic products.

"Taking salmon from Norway as an example, before each batch of salmon is exported, the local veterinary officer will go to the salmon processing plant for sampling, whether the salmon is sick, whether the bacteria exceed the standard, whether the salmon has parasites, all within the scope of the inspection, and the salmon that has passed the inspection will be allowed to be exported, and each batch of salmon will be attached with a certificate of conformity signed by the local veterinary officer, that is, a health inspection certificate." Of course, Norwegian salmon processing plants also have their own inspection system in the production process. If China's rainbow trout is on the market with a health inspection certificate signed by the local veterinarian for each batch, I believe that consumers will no longer worry about parasites. Fan Xubing said.

According to the provisions of the "Raw Salmon" group standard for factory inspection, it is required that each batch of frozen and chilled products should be inspected at the factory, and after passing the inspection, it will be put into storage or factory. Factory inspection is carried out by the quality inspection department of the production unit. However, the test items involving parasites in the standard are only sensory (visual detection of parasites).

In response, Cui He responded that most adult worms can be seen with the naked eye, and the larvae can also be found after cutting. "The first barrier is for enterprises to control themselves, and the second pass is also market supervision."

<h3>How to pick salmon</h3>

At the end of the day, the biggest concern for Chinese consumers is whether they can enjoy salmon sashimi in the future?

There are two keys. First, look at the origin and variety. In Fan Xubing's view, after several rounds of public opinion debate, all people who love salmon sashimi should know that Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout are not a kind of fish. "As for whether rainbow trout can be eaten raw, theoretically as long as it meets food safety standards, it can be eaten raw, but how risky is it to eat it raw?" Consumers can decide on their own according to factors such as the nutrition and taste of rainbow trout, and whether they are assured of the food safety of rainbow trout. ”

Second, it should be understood whether there is a risk of bacteria exceeding the standard throughout the slaughter, packaging and cold chain transportation.

"Norwegian Seafood's advice to consumers: chilled salmon can be eaten raw, frozen salmon is not recommended to eat raw. The chilled salmon here refers to the salmon that is stored at a low temperature of 0-4 ° in the whole process of slaughtering, packaging, transportation, and transportation until the consumer's table. Bacteria multiply and grow slowly on salmon meat at this temperature, so when consumers eat chilled salmon, the likelihood of bacteria exceeding the standard is low. In addition, frozen salmon is not recommended to be eaten raw, mainly from the perspective of nutrition and taste, not from the perspective of food safety. Frozen salmon after freezing and thawing, the taste is not as good as chilled salmon, as sashimi to eat is actually not worthy of the name, because sashimi this food culture, itself is to emphasize the freshness of ingredients. Fan Xubing said.

Chen Jiaxu suggested, "You should go to regular large supermarkets and restaurants to buy and consume salmon, mustard and other condiments can not kill the parasites in the muscles in a short period of time, it is best to freeze at low temperature for 48 hours before eating." ”

"The parasite risk brought about by the raw eating of freshwater rainbow trout is unnecessary, and it is as nutritious as cooked, so why should it be eaten raw?" The group logo says that those who meet the conditions can be eaten raw, but my personal choice is not to eat raw. Zhong Kai said.