Over 13,000 packs of fish fillets tainted with banned drug sold across Taiwan

Taipei, Dec. 1 (CNA) Supermarket chain PX Mart said on Monday that more than 13,000 packs of contaminated frozen tilapia fillets had been sold in Taiwan, after health authorities announced that tests had found traces of a banned veterinary drug in a batch of the product.

Of the 15,624 packs of tilapia fillets tainted with enrofloxacin that were purchased by PX Mart outlets across Taiwan, 13,793 have been sold, while 1,831 have been recalled as of Monday, the Yunlin County Public Health Bureau said, citing figures provided by the supermarket chain.

Enrofloxacin is a bactericide that is legally permitted by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration for animal use, but not approved for aquatic products.

The issue came to light after the Kaohsiung City health department said earlier Monday that it had issued a recall order on Nov. 27 for a product named "Taiwan tilapia fillets" (台灣鯛魚排), with the tainted batch carrying an expiration date of Sept. 16, 2027, after samples tested in October were found to contain enrofloxacin.

In a news release, the department said that 0.028 parts per million (ppm) of the banned antibiotic was detected in samples obtained from a PX Mart in Kaohsiung's Luzhu District, exceeding the "not detected" regulatory standard.

The department said it had ordered PX Mart's head office to immediately remove and recall the batch and to proactively notify consumers.

As the fish was supplied by Yunlin County, the fish farmer involved, surnamed Hsu (許), told local media that he has been farming fish for decades, with products tested before shipment and no problems ever reported.

Hsu said he was aware that enrofloxacin is banned and stressed that he had never used it.

Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Miao Zi-chang (繆自昌) said local authorities had been asked to take samples from the relevant fish ponds, with test results expected in about a week. In the meantime, shipments of fish from those ponds have been suspended, Miao said.

He added that it was still unclear why the tilapia fillets tested positive for a banned drug, noting that when the fish are sent to processing plants, they are tested on arrival and again before the processed products are shipped.

Toxicology expert Yen Tzung-hai (顏宗海) said that at the 0.028 ppm level of enrofloxacin found in the case, consuming the fillets should not cause harm to human organs.