Crimson tuna?

I do not condone the industrial exploitation of blue-fin tuna, the population of which is threatened. Importantly, tuna with a gaudy, crimson-tinged colour is being offered for sale. This may be marked as yellowfin tuna (imported) but this is not always the case. The ‘suspect’ coloration carries on to the cooked product. I have never in my life seen cooked tuna with such a gaudy pink/crimson colour. The taste? Let us say there was no suggestion that it was off, but if one wanted a whiff of the sea, it was definitely not there. As a medical person, the colour of the raw tuna reminded me of the cherry-red discoloration of a person who died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Sure enough, although I was unaware of the fact then, thanks to Google, the gas is actually used on tuna (and Mahi Mahi) to preserve a ‘fresh’ pink appearance of the product, called COtreated tuna

CO-treatment fixes the (gaudy) pink colour which will last for weeks, making it impossible to evaluate the freshness by sight alone. CO-treated tuna has only one aim and that is to entice customers to purchase it irrespective of the lack of freshness or quality. More importantly, CO-treated tuna is banned (treatment and importation) in the EU. The main reason why Canada, Japan, and Singapore, also ban the CO- treatment and importation of treated fish is not because of the chemical, but because of ‘fraud’. ( https://thefishsite.com/articles/how-to-optimise-colour-intuna). CO-treated tuna has been linked with health risks because there is no record of its prolonged handling. ( https://www.hawaiianfreshseafood.com/singlepost/2016/08/11/Carbon-Monoxid e-Treated-Fish-What-you-need-toknow).

Mediterranean blue-fin tuna fetches top dollar ($1000 per kilo) in Japan. Surely none of that is coming on Maltese plates unless sourced from part-time fishermen during the tuna season.

The authorities should look into this when they wake up. I do not know how widely this product has permeated the local market; it is up to the authorities to determine that. A squeak from the local fish supply industry is expected. There is absolutely no other plausible explanation for crimson coloured tuna but CO-treatment. Dr Albert Bezzina Mosta