Looks Fresh... Sea Cucumbers and Abalones Washed with Disinfectant, China in Uproar

Potential Carcinogenic Risk Upon Human Exposure
Import Status of the Item in Korea Unconfirmed

Concerns over the safety of Chinese food have arisen once again. It has been revealed that a seafood processing company used disinfectants when washing sea cucumbers and abalones.

A reporter from the Chinese daily newspaper Xinjingbao went undercover last month at a seafood processing company in Dalian, Liaoning Province, and uncovered this fact. The media confirmed that sea cucumbers and abalones were washed in water diluted with disinfectant and released related footage on the 14th.

Employees at this company washed sea cucumbers and abalones in water mixed with a white powder. When the undercover reporter asked, "What is this (white powder)?", an employee replied, "Medicine."

The employee, holding the sea cucumbers and abalones washed with the "medicine," repeatedly expressed satisfaction, saying "Very good" or "Looks good."

Investigations revealed that the main ingredient of the white powder was borax. Borax is a substance used in industrial applications such as metal processing and glass manufacturing. It is also widely used in detergents, cosmetics, flame retardants, and antimicrobials.

Photo by Pixabay [Image source=Pixabay]

Borax becomes strongly alkaline when dissolved in water. When introduced into the human body, it reacts with stomach acid to form boric acid, which accumulates in internal organs and causes poisoning symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, erythema, and unconsciousness.

The younger the person, the more affected they are, and it can cause cancer. Excessive intake can even lead to death.

Xinjingbao speculated that washing sea cucumbers and abalones with water diluted with borax makes them appear fresher and more vibrant in color, thereby increasing their value, which is why this practice was carried out.

The amount of sea cucumbers and abalones processed by this company so far reaches 5 million kilograms.

It has not yet been confirmed whether the company's seafood has been exported to Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.