Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Sandy]

Does Mainstream have an exclusive agreement with Superstore or even any kind of an agreement?

How can you tell those salmon are from Mainstream?

I guess if CFIA is, was or were doing it's job it will investigate, if allowed that is: Just as if this were to be another type of livestock, I think.

Is some of the posters' calling Ms. Morton a Liar? The pendulum swings both ways as many question, or should do if open minded  about the facts, on both sides of the argument. The same applies to litigation.

[aquapaloosa]

Before you point fingers at the supplier, a lot can happen to meat and produce in transport, storage and handling in big box stores. Had a "fresh" turkey from Superstore last Thanksgiving I bought and opened the day before to brine....when I bagged it and took it back to the store, I warned the manager not to open it in the store...he took it out back and came back and thanked me for the warning. Add that to the bad chicken thighs and fishy "fresh halibut from Save On...... Angry

I usually buy large factory farm eggs until one day I thought I should buy free range organic eggs.  This lasted about about 3 purchases till I gave up.  Every dozen varied in freshness from each end of the scale. In one carton there would be fresh eggs with a firm yolk to eggs with runny yolks and a couple just rotten eggs.  Before this I had never seen a rotten egg. I am back on the factory produced eggs again.  To bad I really appreciate those darker orange yolks.

[absolon]

Sandy, it's only Morton who is saying there is something wrong with those fish. Presumably none of the people who purchased those fish found anything wrong or were made ill by them; a complaint from them would justify and spark an investigation. Morton is merely expressing a completely unsubstantiated opinion when she claims there is something wrong. Of course she is doing it her usual righteously incensed and bombastic fashion, but that doesn't make her any more accurate.

[alwaysfishn]

Sandy, it's only Morton who is saying there is something wrong with those fish. Presumably none of the people who purchased those fish found anything wrong or were made ill by them; a complaint from them would justify and spark an investigation. Morton is merely expressing a completely unsubstantiated opinion when she claims there is something wrong. Of course she is doing it her usual righteously incensed and bombastic fashion, but that doesn't make her any more accurate.

Your comments are scary....   As a fish farmer, is that the standard you find acceptable in the fish you produce? Do you measure the quality of your fish by the number of people that get ill from them? Would you actually eat one of those fish yourself??

Is the public that unaware of what they should be looking for in a fresh fish?

[Easywater]

Make sure that you look at the link provided in the first post.

This is definitely not a healthy fish:


The thing about farmed salmon is we have a choice - wild fish vs farmed fish.

We don't have the same choice with chicken or beef (except that we can choose to buy a healthier version that is organic).

[Dave]

Is some of the posters' calling Ms. Morton a Liar?

Sandy, not sure if you're  referring to me but if so I stand by what I posted.  This has nothing to do with farmed fish; IMO this story is fabricated because fish of that quality would not be for sale in any competitive grocery store and most certainly not in a big name chain store in a salmon savvy town like Campbell River.  I live in Chilliwack, occasionally buy farmed Atlantic's and as I have a particular interest in salmon farming I watch the local seafood departments of big name grocery stores; at all times all fish products, both wild and farmed, were in perfect condition for sale.  If that particular fish shown in the link was put on the shelf of any store in Chilliwack the manager would be fired and heads would roll in upper management.
Again, who has seen fresh salmon sold in superstores with gills still attached?

[alwaysfishn]

Sandy, not sure if you're  referring to me but if so I stand by what I posted.  This has nothing to do with farmed fish; IMO this story is fabricated because fish of that quality would not be for sale in any competitive grocery store and most certainly not in a big name chain store in a salmon savvy town like Campbell River.  I live in Chilliwack, occasionally buy farmed Atlantic's and as I have a particular interest in salmon farming I watch the local seafood departments of big name grocery stores; at all times all fish products, both wild and farmed, were in perfect condition for sale.  If that particular fish shown in the link was put on the shelf of any store in Chilliwack the manager would be fired and heads would roll in upper management.
Again, who has seen fresh salmon sold in superstores with gills still attached?

Where else would Morton get Atlantic salmon? She may have caught escaped salmon, but if that was the case I'm sure she would have mentioned it. The fact is she bought 13 of them at the Superstore in Campbell river. The label supports that.

I agree the manager should be fired for putting an inferior product like that on the shelf! But I'm more concerned about which fish farm is selling these things to the store. Of course if they use the same standards as Absolon appears to accept, then maybe this is what they think the product should look like....

[alwaysfishn]

Maybe the fish farm had an outbreak of jelly fish and when they realized that they decided to cut their losses and send them to market....   

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21490977

"Gill damage to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) caused by the common jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

Over recent decades jellyfish have caused fish kill events and recurrent gill problems in marine-farmed salmonids. Common jellyfish (Aurelia spp.) are among the most cosmopolitan jellyfish species in the oceans, with populations increasing in many coastal areas. The negative interaction between jellyfish and fish in aquaculture remains a poorly studied area of science."

[Sandy]

Dave, comment was not directed at you in particular.
 
I do not always agree with the style of reporting that Ms.Morton and crew often seem to use; I do however admire anyone who is passionate enough to at least make an attempt at keeping us informed, wether we like her style or not: that is if I consider the motives to be true.

Dave I can see the skepticism as to that product being sold in the condition as reported, but given proof positive also may swing either way and with no proof other than the packaging label of where and when bought?  and no evidence presented? The only conclusion would have to be based on a hunch.

as for the sale of tainted foods.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/fispoi/man/samnem/chap3su3e.shtml

I am concerned that given Harper's latest decrees issued, we are going to see many important issues tied up with litigation especially those that are designed to mute the protesters, whistle-blowers on those that we have not yet found out about; afterall we have just heard the Mode of operation of the CFIA or DFO, Too trust or not??

 

[absolon]

Unless you read the transcripts of the hearing, you didn't hear about the modus operandi of the CFIA and the DFO. What you heard was the reporting of the lawyer for the reactionary coalition browbeating witnesses in an attempt to imply wrongdoing and a conspiracy and the reactionary blogoshere declaring that to be proof of said accusations.

[alwaysfishn]

as for the sale of tainted foods.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/fispoi/man/samnem/chap3su3e.shtml

After reading the info in that link (CFIA website) I now understand why Absolon wrote: "Presumably none of the people who purchased those fish found anything wrong or were made ill by them; a complaint from them would justify and spark an investigation."

Even if someone would have complained; because the decomposed gills likely make up less than 10% of the fish weight, the fish is fine according to CFIA. The fish farms are likely aware of these decomposition rules as well.....

"This general standard for packaged fresh and frozen finfish derives its authority from the Fish Inspection Regulations. It defines minimum acceptability of fresh and frozen fish for taint, decomposition, unwholesomeness and other requirements.....

6.2 Decomposition

A unit will be considered decomposed when more than 10% of the declared weight is affected by any of the following conditions:

a) Odour or flavour

Persistent, distinct and uncharacteristic odour or flavour including but not limited to the following:

    ammonia, bilge, faecal, fruity, hydrogen sulphide, musty, putrid, saltfish-like, sour, sour milk-like, vegetable, and yeasty.

b) Discolouration

Fish showing abnormal discolouration of the flesh, such as green or black as associated with decomposition.

c) Texture

Textural breakdown of the flesh associated with decomposition which is characterized by muscle structure which is very tough or dry, or muscle structure which is mushy, or in the case of whole or dressed fish, perforated bellies or broken bellies or belly walls, caused by enzymatic action.

6.3 A sample unit shall be classified as defective when more than 10% of the declared weight of the sample unit is affected by any combination of tainted or decomposed conditions."

[aquapaloosa]

Even if someone would have complained; because the decomposed gills likely make up less than 10% of the fish weight, the fish is fine according to CFIA. The fish farms are likely aware of these decomposition rules as well.....

Get real man.  Food safety is treated very seriously by everybody. 

[absolon]

Your comments are scary....   As a fish farmer, is that the standard you find acceptable in the fish you produce? Do you measure the quality of your fish by the number of people that get ill from them? Would you actually eat one of those fish yourself??

Is the public that unaware of what they should be looking for in a fresh fish?

My comments to Sandy have nothing to do with what I find as acceptable quality or how I measure it. They had everything to do with whether the CFIA even had awareness of Morton's claims let alone reason to investigate as Sandy suggested they should have.

If those fish were actually for sale as Morton claims and were actually purchased by customers who ate them and subsequently became ill, the CFIA would investigate. If Alexandra Morton posts pictures of just the head of 1 of 13 fish she says were purchased and claims without any substantiating proof that those fish were diseased but there are no reports of people becoming ill from eating spoiled salmon and no complaints about the store selling them, the CFIA hasn't any reason to be involved. They are an agency with a mandate that doesn't involve accommodating Morton's desire for more fear-mongering press coverage. Presumably Morton herself didn't even file a complaint, and since she was the only one who can document the claim, the obvious question would be why not?

It does seem to be just a few of you claiming the fish are of very poor quality and I'm wondering how you can tell that from the photo provided. There is some gill damage on one but no other photos documenting the gills of the remaining 12 and no photos of the carcasses showing any morphological damage or deterioration. The damage in no way resembles the picture posted by easy water, not surprising since that particular fish was a post-spawn wild mort that Morton picked up in Harrison Mills as a quick trip to Morton's queendom will reveal. Given Morton's record of handling samples, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that she drove around in a warm car for a week with these in a shopping bag on the back seat before setting up her photo shoot with the inevitable consequence of deterioration of the gill tissue.

[aquapaloosa]

If a 5 % portion or any portion of any meat product is off it will be very obvious by the odor.  That is clearly covered in that link.  

[absolon]

Make sure that you look at the link provided in the first post.

This is definitely not a healthy fish:


The thing about farmed salmon is we have a choice - wild fish vs farmed fish.

We don't have the same choice with chicken or beef (except that we can choose to buy a healthier version that is organic).

Uhhmmmm......dude, that's not a farm fish. It's a post spawn wild mort taken, according to Morton, from Harrison Mills. That growth on the gills is Saprolegnia, an endemic freshwater fungus that takes hold on dying fish. Salmon do that after they spawn and everyone of them gets attacked by Saprolegnia unless they get eaten by a bear first.