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HONG KONG: 14 people fell ill in Hong Kong, eating what they thought was cod fish, but was actually wrongly labelled oil fish at the supermarket.
As a result, on Thursday fish traders, restaurants and businesses have unanimously agreed to a self-imposed ban on the selling of oil fish in the territory.
Hong Kong's biggest supermarket chain ParknShop, which is controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, has already apologised for the mistake and removed all oil fish from its shelves, but customs authorities have decided to take legal action against the supermarket against the mistake made on its food labels.
Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety received complaints from 14 people who fell ill with stomachache and diarrhoea, after consuming what they thought to be cod fish.
It turns out that the fish was wrongly labelled, and what was sold was actually oil fish.
Oil fish looks like cod but is actually a distant cousin of the tuna.
It has a high oil content and is not easily digested.
In fact, some countries deem the fish unsafe for consumption.
"Japan decided to label it as a toxic fish and as far as I understand in Australia, they are not really banning it but produced an advice to caterers this fish should not be served. As far as I understand, in the U.S. some consideration on banning the fish was given, but eventually, they decided to drop that," said Associate Professor Edmund Li, University of Hong Kong.
Defending itself against the mis-labelling, ParknShop says the exact name of the fish -- blue codfish, cod fish and oil fish, might have been lost in translation.
"There is not a consensus on what to call that fish. This health certificate tells us we should call it cod fish. That is what it says. Further information came to light; some other places used oil fish, so we decided in the interest of the consumers, to provide them further information. We not only put cod fish but oil fish in brackets," said Peter Johnston, General Manager - Quality, Food Safety, ParknShop.
It says that all of its cod fish was imported from Indonesia, and came with certificates from health authorities there.
ParknShop has taken all the fish off its shelves and authorities are taking legal action against the supermarket.
"Our purpose now is to try and ensure that this type of fish will not be sold in the market, that some measures need to be taken," said York Chow, Hong Kong Health Secretary.
After the recent spate of food scares including pesticides found in fruits and vegetables mainly imported from mainland China, legislators are asking for more to be done in terms of health and safety inspection.
The government says it will be looking into the matter and liasing with the various departments. - CNA /dt
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