"These chicken feet are very yellow, I'll buy these." "The pork here is very red, this one is good." Reporters often hear such conversations in the market. However, the information learned during interviews is shocking: the "very yellow and very red" poultry and fish have most likely been fed with feed containing chemical dyes, which are harmful and have no benefits for human health.
A person in the feed industry revealed that "making up" aquaculture products such as chickens, ducks, fish, shrimp, and crabs by adding pigments to their feed has become an open secret in the industry. Artificial pigments lead to the appearance of "banana fish"
Not long ago, a farmer in Shunde discovered that the yellow bone fish in his pond had turned into golden-yellow "banana monster fish." Having no other choice, he had to raise them for another three months. "Even after raising them for another three months, only the surface color will fade; the pigments have long been deposited in their bodies," Mr. Zeng, an industry insider, told reporters. The cause of this discoloration is the excessive addition of synthetic artificial pigments in the feed.
Some consumers won't buy chicken feet if they are not yellow, and the redder the pork, the more they like it. Mr. Huang, head of Guanghong Feed, said this is all a misconception. Very yellow chicken feet are very likely from feed containing chemical yellow dyes, and very red pork is likely from feed containing chemical red dyes or even hormones. Since yellow chicken feet sell well on the market, yellow pigments are added to the feed. Adding hormones to feed can make pork redder... This has long been an open secret in the industry.
It is reported that feed pigments are of two types: natural pigments found in raw materials, such as plump, golden-yellow corn, which naturally contains lutein and does not need to be added separately; the other is artificial pigment, a chemically synthesized product with lower costs. Generally, large, formal enterprises use pure natural pigments from raw materials, but some informal small enterprises and farmers, in order to reduce costs, often choose the latter. Some are even mixed feed prepared by the farmers themselves, and some even add banned substances.
"Livestock and poultry such as pigs, chickens, ducks, and fish fed with 'colored' feed have a beautiful color and good appearance, making it difficult for ordinary consumers to distinguish. However, if artificial pigments are added excessively, they are harmful and have no benefits for human health," said Mr. Zeng, an industry insider.