I address this question in the same way to several food retailers:
Greenpeace has found in a recent study that many fish products containing farmed fish contain the health-threatening chemical ethoxyquin, including products sold in your stores. Since I like to eat fish but do not want to take any chemical pesticides, I find this information highly disturbing. But I would like to know that I can eat the food I buy from you without hesitation.
Is you aware of the potential risk posed by ethoxyquin?
As a large retail chain, you have a lot of influence on the production of the products you offer? Will you exert your influence so that I can always eat the fish products you offer without hesitation?
Zu Ethoxyquin
- Ethoxyquin was initially used as an antioxidant for rubber according to Wikipedia.
- It has been used as a plant protection product in the EU since the 1960s until 2011 and has not been authorised as such for this purpose in the EU since then.
- As a feed additive it is still allowed (E324) and as such it is used to preserve feed for farmed fish.
- The chemical finally ends up in the end product and is therefore also consumed by humans.
- Fümeat, vegetables, nüsse, etc. are subject to maximum permissible limits. There is no such limit for fish.
- The amounts found by Greenpeace in farmed fish products exceed the maximum permitted levels of meat by a factor of 17.
- The exact effects on human body are unknown.
- Ethoxyquin accumulates in breast milk.
- It damages the genetic material and is thus dimpled as carcinogenic.
- It crosses the blood-brain barrier.
Sources, all per 16.12.2016
Wikipedia about Exothyquin:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethoxyquin
Results of the Greenpeace study:
(https://www.greenpeace.de/sites/www.greenpeace.de/files/publications/20161216_greenpeace_tabelle_fisch_ethoxyquin.pdf)
Notes on health protection, e.g.:
https://presseportal.zdf.de/pm/planet-e-ein-giftiger-verdacht/