Group Warns Of Carbon Monoxide-Treated Fish

I was wonder if this is common practice which we do not know about. Have places been doing this here as well?

Group Warns Of Carbon Monoxide-Treated Fish

EnviroWatch Says Gas Sometimes Used To Make Old Fish Look New


KITV-TV
updated 5:48 p.m. ET, Tues., Dec. 30, 2008


HONOLULU - An environmental watchdog group said Hawaii customers should be careful when buying fish because some stores are selling old fish treated with carbon monoxide to make it seem fresh.

Sign-wavers demonstrated on Kapahulu Avenue Monday outside a store that sells raw fish. They said they are angry about the use of carbon monoxide to treat older, sometimes spoiled fish. The gas makes fish seem fresh and bright.
"It masks the age of the fish. It can take an old piece of fish and make it look bright red as if it's naturally red," said Carroll Cox of EnviroWatch.

Cox said spoiled but treated fish is implicated in a number of local cases of food poisoning in 2007.
State law required fish treated with carbon monoxide to be labeled. Many local stores sell treated fish. Some stores do label it as such. However, Cox said some use a misleading label that reads: preserved with tasteless smoke. That is carbon monoxide, he said.

Demonstrators said they want to know what they are feeding their children.
"I think the community and the family should know they're not buying fresh fish," one protestor said.
People passing by the sign-wavers were shocked to learn the poke they love may not be fresh and may come from foreign countries.
"Yeah, it disturbs me and i'm scared now to eat the other fish," one man said.

EnviroWatch was so surprised by the local reaction to the sign waving on Monday, members said they are going to step up efforts to inform more people about the practice of treating fish with carbon monoxide.
"So how do you tell if fish is fresh?" KITV asked.
"It's hard because sometimes the older maybe spoiled fish actually looks better. You've got to check the label carefully and you've got to trust the seller," Cox said.