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When you tuck into a delicious seafood dish, is it possible that the
fish you are eating once ate human poop? Surprisingly, that might be the
case. A look at the U.S. seafood supply reveals that some of our most
popular seafood treats might come to us from unsanitary and disgusting
operations in other countries. And the federal government does not
necessarily stop it from making its way to your dinner plate, either.
These days, 91 percent of U.S. seafood is imported, and half of that is
farmed (the other half is wild-caught). Our top suppliers include China,
Thailand, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Ecuador, and Vietnam. And the
production systems some of these countries use would make your stomach
turn.
Michael Doyle, regents professor and director at the Center for Food
Safety at the University of Georgia, described tilapia production in China,
saying, “The farmers there grow the fish in ponds that are maybe one to
two acres in size. That's their livelihood. And they use excessive
antibiotics.” China is a leading supplier of tilapia to the U.S.
“It's not just antibiotic residues on the seafood. It's also antibioticresistant
microbes that come with the fish or the shrimp,” he continued.
“A primary source of salmonella is the raw manure that is used to feed the
shrimp and fish. Many of these farmers have poultry -- maybe chickens,
maybe geese, maybe ducks. The fecal waste of these animals is fed
directly into these ponds, which is the source of nutrients for these fish and
shrimp… Poultry can harbor salmonella... that's shed in the feces. And