Pangasius, or sharks, in huge quantitiesappeared on the shelves about ten years ago and immediately became incredibly popular because of its cheapness. His fillets were cooked at home, ate in canteens, served even in budget cafes and restaurants. And only after a while they began to think: is not there a mousetrap under this tasty and almost free "piece of cheese"? Why such a price? How to grow pangasius, what does it feed and is it not harmful to eat dishes from this fish?
So, what kind of animal is this and what it is eaten with,the reader must know. But where is he traded? How to grow? Pangasius in Vietnam is almost the main fish product. The Mekong River - its natural habitat - originates in the upper reaches of Tibet and feeds on glaciers, and in the lower reaches - rains. The delta of this largest in the Indochina waterway has become home to hundreds of species of creatures and feeds millions of people.
The shark catfish is unpretentious, growing rapidly and literallyfor fifteen years became the basis of the economy of the southern regions of Vietnam. In one of the villages he was even put up a monument. Many live right on the river and bred fish for their own food (in nets or baskets under huts on pontoons - in a natural environment). This method is very different from how to grow pangasius for export. To meet the requirements for cleanliness and quality of products, manufacturers have to make extraordinary efforts.
The cultivation of pangasius for sale is engaged andsmall farms, and large industrial enterprises. This occurs in artificial reservoirs, and not in the river itself. And although the water in these ponds still falls from the Mekong, in composition and purity it can be very different from the original.
From these factors (where and how to grow fishpangasius) depends on whether it will go for sale for domestic consumption of the country or suitable for sending abroad. But the export option is not the same: to European consumers the fillet gets completely cleared of excess fat, neatly packaged and looks very attractive. We often see on the shelves ice-bound layers of uncertain color, sometimes without packaging at all. The difference, of course, in the price, and it is considerable.
Information on how to grow pangasius fishin Vietnam, quite contradictory: there are frank opponents and ardent defenders of this product. There are also different opinions on the pluses of eating pangasius meat.
Among its useful properties are called highprotein content, low caloric content and saturation with fatty and organic acids. At the same time, all the benefits can be brought to naught by the very process of breeding, more precisely, the conditions in which this process proceeds. So, what are the features of such a business? Why does this fish cause so much controversy? In what conditions are they bred? How to grow?
Pangasius, the habitat of which is the Mekong River,as already mentioned, is an object of trade and enjoys considerable demand. Still would! The fish is delicious, it is prepared quickly, it benefits the body ... Stop! The last point causes many many doubts. Why? Because the river water poisoned with chemical and organic waste can make any product poison. They are opposed by opponents: but is the Mekong dirty? Because "the truth is always around," we'll try to get to it.
Mekong - a river terribly littered.Apart from the incredible amount of domestic and industrial waste and wastewater, it is full of poisonous substances that were abundantly sprayed over Vietnam during the war. How to grow pangasius in such mud?
Since the shark is an omnivore, feed it thanhave, up to the feces. To accelerate the growth of fish are stuffed with antibiotics, hormones and it is still unknown what toxic muck. To increase the weight, carcasses are washed in polyphosphates, which help absorb moisture. Because of this, most of the finished product is water from the same Mekong. During the delivery from the place of production to the place of sale, the fillet can be defrosted several times and frozen again, which does not add freshness to it. At the processing factories, terrible unsanitary conditions reign, the fish is teeming with parasites.
Если Меконг такой загрязненный, каким образом там survives and feels great a huge number of animals, birds and insects? Since the war, enough time has passed that nature has time to recover, and the garbage is carried by the current into the ocean. In addition, in dirty water, the fish would simply perish. In occasion of omnivorousness: pigs also eat everything. And favorite crayfish, which are so tasty for beer, eat carrion. So what? And then, in Vietnam, thousands of tons of pangasius are produced. How to get so much edible garbage? Parasites can be in any fish. For this, there is a heat treatment. Antibiotics are pricked and chicken too, but we do not stop eating them.
Pangasius is exported to many countries of the world, inincluding those in Europe, in which carefully monitor the quality of imported products. In Russia, this is the responsibility of the Rosselkhoznadzor. Periodically, imports are prohibited because of insufficient quality of the goods. A list of companies that are allowed to import fish such as pangasius into the Russian market is being updated. Where is it grown for export? As a rule, these are quite large producers with HACCP licenses (international food safety management system). Water in ponds and pools is regularly cleaned by powerful filters and saturated with oxygen by means of special aerators. The sanitary condition of these enterprises is at the level of world standards, otherwise it would simply be impossible to see this fish on the shelves of the countries of Europe and the USA.
It feeds on special granules made inmostly from fish waste (heads, bones, taksi), enriched with vitamin and mineral supplements. Of course, not all have the opportunity to purchase high-quality equipment and feed, so the way pangasius is grown in small farms is sometimes shocking. In a cramped and poorly clean environment, the fish becomes ill, and antibiotics are already being used. But this product has practically no chances to get to foreign markets - it is consumed domestically.
Pangasius, despite all the myths surrounding him,- the usual fish grown on a farm. On the same farms in other countries are bred trout, carp and sturgeon. You can eat it, of course, you can. It is unlikely that the harm from him more than from the same legs, stuffed with medicines.
But at the same time when buying, you should pay attention to several factors:
1. Color.Yellow fillet - the lowest grade, indicates that the fish grew in poor conditions; red - lacked oxygen or fillets were subjected to coloring; light pink and white are colors that can be more or less trusted.
2.If there is a choice, it is better to take the carcass, and not the fillet, since all the fillets imported into Russia are treated with polyphosphates for weight gain. Suppliers claim that this is absolutely harmless and deprives the fish of a specific "river" smell, but who will give a guarantee?
3. Глазурирование, или глейзинг.Freezing in a layer of water is a technique used by manufacturers to protect products from weathering, but it should be a thin crust, and not a huge block of ice.
4. The amount of fat. The less - the better: a large amount of fat is present in the cheapest, and therefore low quality product.
5. Price.The cost of pangasius is already quite low. Therefore, if the price is absolutely unreal, it is better to refrain from buying - there is a chance to purchase a stale goods delivered to a point of sale in violation of storage standards.
Despite all the talk about where and howPangasius are grown, the feedback on the taste of this fish is mostly positive. Both Russians and residents of other countries, constrained in funds, continue to buy this inexpensive product with pleasure. Significant budget savings - one of the main arguments in its favor.
However, there is still something that is definitely not worth doing:
1. Cook from pangasius heh, sushi and other dishes that use raw fish.
2.To turn it into the basis of your diet - there is still a risk of acquiring an insufficient quality product, and harmful substances tend to accumulate in the body. No wonder his import was suspended last time recently - in 2014.
3. To eat Pangasius during pregnancy and feeding - a small amount of harmful substances that for an adult organism will pass unnoticed, the child can cause significant harm.
