4,080 contaminated fish fillets sold in Kaohsiung before recall

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) The Kaohsiung City health department said Monday that it has issued a recall order for tilapia fillets that were found to contain traces of a banned veterinary drug, but some 4,080 packets of the tainted fish had already been sold.

The recall order was issued on Nov. 27 after samples of the fish tested in October were found to contain enrofloxacin, a bactericide that is legally permitted by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) for animal use but is not approved for aquatic products.

In a news release, the Kaohsiung health department said that 0.028 parts per million (ppm) of the bactericide was detected in the fish fillet samples obtained in October from a PX Mart supermarket in Luzhu District.

During an inspection of the supermarket on Nov. 27, it was found that 24 packets of tilapia fillets had been sold at the store, the health department said.

The head office of the supermarket chain was instructed to pull the product from PX Mart store shelves immediately and ask customers to return the fish that had already been sold, the health department said.

According to the health department, PX Mart stores in Kaohsiung had 4,488 packets of tilapia in stock, and 4,080 had already been sold, while 408 were removed from the shelves.

Customers who had purchased the fish could ask for a refund or a replacement product, once they present their receipts, the health department added.

As the fish was supplied by Yunlin County, its Public Health Bureau has been notified of the problem, the Kaohsiung health department said.

Excessive ingestion of enrofloxacin may cause upset stomach and kidney problems, according to the TFDA.