RE: Malachite green

From: Foodfocus Advies (info@foodfocus.nl)
Date: Sun Oct 14 2007 - 12:28:29 PDT

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    This is of interest to you:

    "Malachite green identified as an environmental contaminant": see at:
    http://www.bfr.bund.de/cd/10136

    Regards

    Jan Verhoeven
    Foodfocus.nl

    --------------------------------------------------
    On 11 Oct 2007 at 10:53, Sanchez, Sergio <Sergio.Sanchez@inspectorate.com> wrote:

    Subject: RE: Malachite green
    Date sent: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:53:59 -0500
    From: "Sanchez, Sergio" <Sergio.Sanchez@inspectorate.com>
    To: Byron Gurdián García <bgurdian@senasa.go.cr>,
                   <seafood@ucdavis.edu>

    Dear Byron,

    Not likely to get malachite green (MG) contamination from nature at those levels
    (>2ppb). If this banned fungicide (notapproved to be used on food producing
    animals) is not being added through the primary production of the tilapia (used to
    treat ectoparasites such as gill flukes, ich and trichodina as well as bacteria and
    fungal infections) and shrimp, it is most likely to come from the balanced feed
    (similar to the problems with crystal violet - another banned triphenylmethane dye)
    and/or environmental contamination..
    Malachite green and its major metabolite, leuco-malachite green (LMG) has been reported
    to have mutagenic and carcinogenic effects on humans. When malachite green is used in
    aquatic animals, it will be metabolized to leuco-malachite green. The non-polar LMG has
    been found to retain in catfish muscle for a longer period of them, 10 days for LMG
    compared to 2.8 in MG. It has been determined that the half lives of the retention of
    malachite green and leuco-malachite green in catfish muscle is 2.8 days. Therefore,
    laboratory analyses must determine both MG and LMG and report results as the sum of
    both.
    Possible sources of contamination:
    * Paper or Textile production facilities: MG is used as an industrial dye in some
        manufacturing applications, including pulp and paper and textiles. Discharges
        from such operations could contaminate rivers, streams and other water
        bodies.
    * Balanced feed: chicken meal/bone, fish meal and/orrice/soybean contaminated with
        triphenylmethane dyes
    * Rice/corn/soybean crops - if nearby, or alternating crops with tilapia ponds
        couldbe a source of contamination
    * Sterile Gloves - check the gloves used at the processing plants. Some brands will
        have triphenylmethane dyes' powder.
    Hope this helps.

    Regards,
    Sergio Sanchez

    -----Original Message-----
    From: owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-seafood@ucdavis.edu]On
    Behalf Of Byron Gurdián García
    Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 9:18 AM
    To: seafood@ucdavis.edu
    Subject: Malachite green

    Dear Sefood Commnunity:

    I want to know about natural sources of malachite green, if they exist.

    The point is that some samples taken from St. Peter fish ponds and aquacultured shrimp
    have 2 ppb of malachite green, this levels reached the MRL for this residue.

    I also took samples in the river, before the ponds and after the ponds, but haven't gotten the
    results.

    On the other hand apparently agrochemicals used in different crops such as rice have in
    their formulation malachite green.

    I hope your prompt support

    Byron

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