Chinese ban imposed on 'contaminated' crabs

The crabs were found to have 'excessive' amounts of cadmium, a Chinese authority claims

A Chinese authority has banned brown crabs exported by Anglesey firms after claiming they contain a "metallic contaminant".

The Hong Kong-based Centre for Food Safety (CFS) announced an embargo on the sea creatures and warned people on Wednesday not to eat them.

The CFS said samples it had collected from the isle had "excessive" cadmium.

Defra said all crabs sold in the UK need to comply with EU regulations on the level of cadmium permitted.

It added it was working with the Hong Kong authorities to find a "workable solution" so trade could resume "as soon as possible".

Two crab samples that were ready for export to China contained the metal at 15 and 22 parts per million (ppm) - exceeding a limit of 2ppm, the CFS said.

Enhanced surveillance

More than 220kg of meat from one of the exporters has been held by Hong Kong officials, but 160kg has already been distributed, the CFS said.

Officials warned that, while occasional consumption of crabs with cadmium will not cause significant harm, prolonged intake may have adverse effects on people's kidneys.

"The CFS has informed the relevant authorities of the United Kingdom and the local trade and will continue to closely follow up the incident and take appropriate actions, including enhanced surveillance of aquatic products imported from the United Kingdom," the announcement said.

Anglesey council said it had not heard from the Chinese authority but added it was aware of the situation and was making inquiries.

Restrictions

"Brown crab is known to accumulate cadmium in the hepatopancreas (a component of the brown meat) due to the detoxifying function of this organ," a spokesperson said.

"The authority has not issued export certificates in relation to brown crab destined for China for some months, following advice from Defra that the Chinese had placed restrictions on the import of live crabs from the whole of the UK, due to excessive cadmium levels found on testing."

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Wales said cadmium concentrations in brown meat from crabs - as opposed to white crab meat, which comes from the legs and claws - "vary widely".

It said the NHS advises regular fish-eaters to avoid eating brown crab meat too often.

"The FSA is continuing to work with the crab industry to look at ways of reducing cadmium levels in brown crab meat through different processing methods," an FSA spokesperson said.