DNA tests have confirmed that fish found in canned products seized from a factory in Samut Sakhon were blackchin tilapia, an invasive species, rather than Nile tilapia as the government previously claimed, opposition lawmakers and the BioThai Foundation said on Tuesday.
People's Party MP Natcha Boonchai-insawat said the samples, seized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), were identified as blackchin tilapia, or Sarotherodon melanotheron, by the International Center of Excellence in Seafood Science and Innovation at Prince of Songkla University.
The findings contradict conclusions issued by the Department of Fisheries and the Agriculture Ministry, which had identified the fish as Nile tilapia.
A separate canned-fish sample collected in Samut Songkhram and labelled as sardines was found to contain Nile tilapia, Mr Natcha said.
Fellow PP MP Nattapong Sumonotham said the conflicting findings risked undermining public confidence in the authorities' handling of the issue.
He said efforts to control blackchin tilapia should go beyond encouraging people to eat the invasive fish and called for stronger measures to limit its ecological impact.
BioThai said the controversy emerged in May after the FDA seized more than 12,000 cans labelled as sardines from a factory amid suspicions they contained tilapia. The foundation said the latest test results reinforced concerns about fish being mislabelled and blackchin tilapia entering the food supply chain.
The PP and BioThai called on the FDA, the Department of Fisheries and the Agriculture Ministry to explain how blackchin tilapia came to be used in canned food, hold those responsible to account and improve transparency in food safety oversight.
