A report by the state broadcaster revealing that one-third of the salmon sold in China is actually rainbow trout farmed on the Tibetan plateau has caused widespread outrage among consumers.
© Image | weibo
We Ate Fake Salmon?
After CCTV revealed on Wednesday that many of them have been buying a different type of fish "like" salmon farmed in a reservoir in Qinghai province, it set off a firestorm of criticism online.
"We have ate the FAKE salmon!"
On social media, angry consumers said they had been misled by fish sellers marketing their salmon as imported from northern Europe or North America, with some vowing to stop buying the fish altogether.
© Image | vcg
Rainbow trout, looked like salmon, are living in fresh water but not sea water. In fact, it is difficult to know the difference between rainbow trout and salmon by your eyes on the table.
Trout or salmon? Guess
“So all this time I’ve been eating trout?” was one more measured Chinese comment on the story.
It has also tapped into widespread fears about food safety in China, with many online commenters saying they can't believe that the Chinese farmed freshwater fish being sold as salmon, and worrying about parasites in the raw fish.
© Image | Netease
In China, More people have been eating the salmon in recent years, particularly at Japanese restaurants or cooking it at home, believing it to be nutritious and imported.
Can We Believe The Clarification?
Now consumers all think that the salmon eaten before were fake. For this, The China Fisheries Association (CFA) was forced to issue a statement to clarify it.
© Image | CFA
CFA quells internet rumors that rainbow trout farmed on the Tibetan plateau was being mislabeled salmon; was infested with worms; and painted to resemble salmon, after a soft news story by Chinese state-owned media was jumped on by Chinese netizens.
To quell the fire which hit national headlines in China, CFA explained Atlantic salmon, coho salmon, and rainbow trout are all legitimately referred to as “sanwenyu”, which is a Chinese phonetic approximation of salmon in English but commonly understood in China to mean salmon, and not trout.
© Image | vcg
It noted that rainbow trout is also farmed in Norway and Chile where "many locals prefer it, and prices can be higher".
However, it is obvious that consumers in China are not believing at all in it and increasing worry about food safety. Some people indicated that the trout and salmon belong to total different fish catagories.
The controversy are still proceeding on the internet intensely.
© Image | sohu
Past food safety scandals in China have made the country's consumers hypersensitive to purported food safety risks, valid or otherwise. Last year, a Chinese internet survey found rumors imported lobster were infested with worms was the "most-read" food safety-related rumor online in 2017.
© Image | tencent
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Ref | SCMP, Tencent
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