Getting Real About Codfish

From the China Compliance Digest (Issue No. 13: April 30 2012):

A buzzed-about microblog posting claimed children had been sickened after eating oilfish that was sold as codfish at Chinese supermarkets.

Widely used as an industrial lubricant, oilfish is cheaper and fattier than codfish, but looks like cod, especially when sliced.

Some media outlets investigating the matter said it was probable that none of the codfish on supermarket shelves in China was genuine.

Shanghai Carrefour claimed it could produce certificates to prove the authenticity of their codfish products. Soon after this statement to the media, however, reporters discovered all codfish had been yanked from Carrefour shelves. When questioned, Carrefour representatives said the products were removed in response to consumers’ misgivings.

Following the media reports, several other supermarket chains removed codfish products from their shelves.

Sources: China Central Television (中央电视台), China National Radio (中央广播电台), People’s Daily (人民日报), Legal Evening News (法制晚报)

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