Let me introduce you to the nemesis in France that should never ever come in close proximity to your mouth: any fish from warm waters. Some advice. Stay away from it!
I’ll explain.
A friend of ours I’ll call Nemo (not his real name), who works as a quality assurance agent for a very large chain of hypermarkets* in France told us something that compelled me to share with everyone, specifically to expats shopping for fish in any hypermarché in France. This warning applies to everyone as well of course, but honestly, I don’t worry as much about the French, only because I feel that they have much more resistance to food poisoning. Really. It must have something to do with growing up eating camembert.
Anyway, we never buy fish in these large markets but I know many people do. So, here’s the warning: Don’t buy fish coming from bodies of water that are warm, those fish being primarily from Asia. Stores usually indicate where the fish is from originally so you can get an idea about the quality of fish and its edibility (or poison-ability).
Nemo tells us that when he tests fish, he applies a substance on the fish and if there’s evidence of bacteria or other contamination, a black dot will appear. A fish is deemed OK for eating if there are no more than about 6 dots. He finds that fish from warm waters are so laden with bacteria that they are completely covered in black after testing. Clearly, these fish are not fit for consumption, but the hypermarket, being the greedy, exploiting, unethical, evil SOBs that they are, ignored our friend’s recommendation to dispose of this inedible fish. They chose to sell all of the contaminated fish to unsuspecting consumers.
Needless to say, there’s a LOT of contaminated fish out there! Nemo is disgusted and is in search of a new job.
The positive part of this whole thing is that Nemo tells us the fish from the North Atlantic or any cold body of water, generally produces relatively fresh fish, much safer to eat.
* Take your guess at which hypermarché, however, chances are that they all share similar philosophies about “quality assurance” and the bottom line.
23 Comments so far
Leave a comment
The problem is not only with the fish. Meat in hypermarchés is as bad, not because it comes from who knows where, but beacuse usually, when the meat is not fresh anymore, they cut the exterior, take the inside that looks like normal meat, put it in a new package with a new date and sell it with the rest. And when it’s really bad, they just make sausages (if I believe that report on TV I saw a few months ago).
Comment by Ewj 08.03.07 @ 4:29 pmBEURK!
At the very least you could give us the first letter of the name of the store!
Does it start with a “C” or an “L” ?
Comment by MadameK 08.04.07 @ 5:33 amCould also be a “A” or a “G”..
They’re all have the same “ethics” anyway.
Comment by Calimero 08.05.07 @ 1:22 amMy children and I are traveling to Brittany in a few weeks. We’ll be shopping and cooking. What is a supermarche, and do you have any more advice?
Comment by Heather 05.21.08 @ 11:17 pmHi, I live in Penang, Malaysia. Yes, we can get fish fillets called “Dori” at a very “reasonable” price at most supermarkets. I wonder if they are the same type that should not be consumed? Regards, William
Comment by William Chong 07.28.08 @ 6:59 pmEeeek. . .
Is Tilapia a warm-water fish? We don’t recall seeing it until the past few months and love it!! We tried it at a restaurant where it sells for about $12.95 per meal, but at the grocery in the frozen dept it is very cheap. I shudder to think that it might be this fish by another name – Sutchi, Panang or whatever. If you know – pls email me!! Thx!! gingerinvegas@hotmail.com
OMG!…there are 2 packs of the fillet!
Brand:Sutchi Fillet
by Island Fish
packed by:gst-group
They even have info on the amount of Omega 3 composition.
R these the ones ? pls let me know .Thanks
Tilapia are warm-water fish. In Malaysia, we called them “African” fish. Yes, they are from Africa. They are fast growing and can survive very well in any fresh water bodies – lake, dam, river, pond or even aquarium. They eat almost anything. There are two types of Tilapia – one is dark and the other light pink in color. Cheap and quite delicious. Most Tilapia from Malaysia are farmed in lakes and aquaculture ponds…and I think they are not so bad as compare to the Pangas fish of Vietnam. Personally i like Tilapia in fried in oil with black sauce.
Comment by Forest 09.28.08 @ 7:33 pmTilapia is definitely a safe fish to eat. Iron Chef America woudn’t have used this fish as their PRIMARY INGREDIENT (in one of their shows) if this fish isn’t safe for human consumption
Comment by maddy hayes 10.21.08 @ 3:21 amHas anyone seen “dirty jobs by Mike Rowe”? In one of the episodes,it was shown that Striped Bass was farmed in Mugabe Desert. The waste water from the tanks were drained into holding tanks where Tilapia fish and another fish species to feed on the waste water Then all this fish were farmed to be sold to markets. All this happened in USA ! It was said that all the fish was safe for consumption. That needs some figuring right? Well one thing is for sure…I ain’t eating farmed fish…!
Comment by bigbird 10.21.08 @ 11:29 amI am always very wary about the fish that I buy and where it comes from. I only buy the freshest fish and i do not go for the cheaper stuff too! I always make sure to keep a good relation with the local fish market…
that helps too
Please don’t think Australian tropical seafood is anything like those of Asia. Any tropical wild catch Australian seafood is caught in clean green pristine waters and exported under the strictest conditions.
Comment by Nola 12.06.09 @ 9:39 pmI lived in Sth.East Asia for 10 years & would NEVER eat any fish from there. I loved the fish I purchased off the beach. Will not even eat canned fish from there. Thank you for the warning, I do appreciate being informed
Comment by Belle 01.07.10 @ 12:52 amBeen eating river cobbler for ages, really love it. Wont be eating it again!Wish I hadn’t “googled” it!
Comment by norma cathro 02.08.10 @ 12:39 pmI have been buying frozen fish from Sainsbury`s Basic range , whitefish fillets, and it is labelled on the back of the pkt.as Alaska Pollock. It does however look very like fish in a picture I was sent with a warning about fish called ;BASA,(Pangasius,Vietnamese river cobbler,White Catfish, or Gray Sole..)This fish is also labelled as from CHINA . Am I paranoid to say I can smell a `Rat` here ? it is scary !
Comment by Terence A Dunn 02.16.10 @ 3:08 pmHas anyone tried washing the fish in vinegar.
Then “Cook”it! I cannt stand par fried or cooked meat of anykind. I either steam or cook the daylights out of it. high temperature steam should kill the bacteria.
Thank you for the information on fish…you know it is not safe to eat anything anymore! So we should start growing our own food, are just become vegataryes….Yes.:(
Comment by r.g. 07.15.10 @ 5:16 pmIs there a fear of legal reprisal or why doesn’t the author name the supermarkets? They are responsible for what they pass off to their customers!!!
Comment by Kevin 08.09.10 @ 3:29 amYou should see what the Talapia farmers feed the fish and you will never eat cultured fish.
In Malaysia, all chicken parts (including feathers) for processing centres are collected, minsed and fede to the fish.
Anything dead, could also be fed to the fish
Enjoy your fish
Comment by vijai deb 08.29.10 @ 9:55 pmDo a google search for the words “Tilapia” and “donuts” and tell me if you think it is a healthy fish to eat…
And this isn’t even a bacteria issue. They honestly come out and say you’d be better off eating red meat than eating this fish, due to its unhealthy levels of certain oils…
Comment by David Garcia 10.04.10 @ 10:56 pmI suppose this is the Asian equivalent to giving farmed Salmon in Scotland hormones.
If the country is poor or very hot, I can imagine the conditions could make bacteria grow in the fish so I will be avoiding fish from these areas.
Question is how can you be sure of supermarkets labeling correctly?
When shopping, you cannot tell where a fish is from or what type it is unless you are an expert.
We miss the fresh Grimsby fish and find much of what you can buy in France is grey and horrible and is fried (menuire) or has stuff ontop (bordalaise). Are these fish safe or are they rubbish fish disguised with stuff to make them better.
We had a Tiapac frozen moreau fish pie which had a lot of mash and virtually no fish, just a few pieces mixed into the mash.
Comment by RR 11.09.10 @ 2:30 pmJeez, what is this ??? THis article is simply ridicule, and much too generalizing. It’s not all supermarket fishes which pose a problem, but most especially the vietnamese Panga fish. It is indeed bred in Mekong river, in most un-hygenic conditions and should definitely be avoided (Norwegian bred salmon is also to be avoided at all cost, it’s crap laden !).
About the panga itself, it is offered in my supermarket starting this week, for the first time ever ! So that’s certainly not the most common fish around.
RR, I’m sorry but in France all fresh fishes are sold with origin written on label board. You don’t have to be an expert to know what type of fish is offered, as name is always mentioned as well. No need to be an expert, buy fish regularly and you’ll know.
About your frozen fish pie, I’m not surprised. Most industrial frozen dishes are crap and should be avoided as well (pizzaz are ok). It’s usually full of shit and most of the time has only a very small percentage of meat/fish.
Come on, you don’t come to France to buy frozen pies !
Leave a comment
E-mail addresses are never displayed - If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting. HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
























