Some Chinese fishermen and other business people still use the banned malachite green as fungicide in food production and processing, due to its low price and effectiveness in controlling molds and other fishery diseases, said Huang Hai, assistant minister of Commerce, Monday in Beijing.

Huang made the remark in response to a question from the press at a news briefing on food safety. China banned the usage of malachite green in food production as early as 2002, he said.

The use of malachite green, which can cause cancer, is prohibited in many parts of the world. In June this year, British food safety watchdogs found that salmon sold in some markets was tainted with malachite green, which is used to control molds that kill the eggs of farmed fish.

After that, relevant Chinese governmental departments started a nationwide project to crack down on the usage of malachite green in the fishery industry, having detected the illegal use of this potentially harmful toxin in some provinces.

Source: Xinhua