Heavy metals detected in fish imported from China revealed

Is the fish Kenyans are consuming from China safe?

This is the question in the minds of many following concerns that tonnes of fish and other frozen foodstuffs being imported into the country are being contaminated with cancer-causing radiation at the port of Mombasa.

The National Treasury has defended the importation of fish from China for local consumption, saying the Kenyan fishing industry does not produce enough to satisfy demand.

In its draft Budget Policy Statement 2019 , Kenya exports high quality fish that fetches top dollar mostly in European markets then imports cheap fish to bridge the balance between demand and production.

The Treasury further said that  local production does not meet demand in the Kenyan market, hence the need to import from China and other markets.  Related image

Part of the fish imported into the region from China contains traces of heavy metal, harmful to human health, laboratory investigations commissioned by The EastAfrican show.

Samples of the fish, purchased from a wholesale dealer at Nairobi’s Gikomba market, had lead, mercury, copper and arsenic, albeit in levels termed permissible by the World Health Organisation standards.

Statistics available in Tanzania and Kenya show there is a high consumption of fish imported from China, which is generally cheaper than the local fish from lakes and rivers, and farms in the region, making it more popular in restaurants, food kiosks and homes.

The presence of the heavy metals in the imported fish means that they are exposed to either the use of petrol powered water pumps or pesticide application apparatus, leading to contamination of their ponds.

“Heavy metals can cause serious health hazards, and any potential dietary exposure to lead or mercury possesses possible risk to human health,” Prof Mbaria said.

Heavy metal residue indicates possible

The EastAfrican took the samples of fish to the University of Nairobi’s laboratory for a residue and drug analysis.

The results confirmed residues of 0.04 ppm of lead, 0.005 ppm of mercury, >0.001 ppm of arsenic and 1.2 ppm of copper, indicating possible contamination of the water ponds used to farm the fish.

“It was explained that the local production of about 135,100 metric tonnes of fish does not meet the current domestic demand of 500,000 metric tonnes, and that on the same matter, strategically, Kenya exports premium fish and imports cheaper fish for the benefit of the consumer,” says the Treasury.
The stand by the Treasury, however, appears to be contradictory to a ban on fish imports, particularly from China, by the President last October. Addressing a forum for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), President Uhuru Kenyatta said there was need to safeguard the livelihoods involved in fishing and questioned why the country was “importing fish yet our colleagues are in fishing”.
Fishermen have in the past opposed imports, saying if empowered through training and access to credit to enable them buy superior equipment, they can increase their daily yields from the current 50kg to over 200kg.
The concerns on fish imports from China are against sentiments that China has been exploiting Kenya, considering the heavy debt burden and imports from the country that have overrun other local sectors.
Kenyans also questioned whether the Chinese contractors that have bagged major infrastructure jobs have been paying taxes.

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