Freshwater fish banned in ready-to-eat raw fish dishes

[Pal]

AVA and NEA tests found freshwater fish to contain higher bacterial contamination than saltwater fish. All retail food establishments that wish to sell ready-to-eat raw fish dishes are to use only saltwater fish intended for raw consumption, says NEA.

This comes after a spike in Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infections reported in June, where some patients fell ill after consuming yusheng, a raw fish dish typically eaten with congee.

In the first half of the year, the number of GBS cases at hospitals rose from an average of 150 a year in the past four years to 238 a year. In July, with some samples of raw fish found to contain GBS bacteria, the NEA advised stallholders to temporarily stop selling raw fish dishes using Song and Toman fish.

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