Several bottle caps of anesthetic can numb thousands of pounds of live fish! CCTV exposes chaos of live fish being anesthetized with industrial alcohol

On the evening of March 22, CCTV broadcast an undercover report titled “The Fish Under Anesthesia,” revealing that several seafood markets in Chongqing, Linyi (Shandong), and Suzhou (Anhui) are secretly using substances such as eugenol, industrial alcohol, and甲盐 to put live fish into a “sleep” state.

After the program team handed over the materials to the State Market Supervision Administration, the administration, together with the Chongqing Market Supervision Bureau and the Linyi Market Supervision Bureau, launched an investigation and response simultaneously.

The report states that at the Chongqing Lebang Seafood Market, which is relatively large in the Southwest region, many live fish transported over long distances arrive in a “dormant” state, appearing as dead fish in the water. After oxygenation, they quickly recover.

Workers add liquids to buckets, causing the fish to instantly become quiet and limp.

During transportation, the reporter observed workers adding a bottle cap of liquid into buckets of live fish and stirring. The lively fish immediately become quiet and limp. The bottles are labeled “Yu Hu Bao,” containing eugenol, a “three-no” product (no approval, no registration, no safety certification).

The vendors claimed that adding anesthetics during live fish transportation makes loading and unloading easier and prevents fish scales from falling off during transit. Medical experts warn that long-term, large-scale use of eugenol can damage the liver and kidneys.

Similarly, at the Qiangsheng Seafood Wholesale Market in Linyi, there are cases of using anesthetics to transport live fish. The reporter found that some vendors even directly use industrial alcohol. They casually add anesthetics to fish baskets and water pools, with doses and concentrations based on feel; just a few bottle caps can anesthetize thousands of jin (a Chinese weight unit) of fish.

Market officials sternly told the reporter that the market does not permit the use of anesthetics. However, industrial alcohol and pre-mixed large barrels of anesthetics are openly displayed in the market, and the management turns a blind eye.

The reporter visited a manufacturer in Ji’an, Jiangxi, that produces eugenol. The manufacturer admitted that the raw materials are imported from Indonesia and are sold as food additives, but fish vendors use them for fish anesthesia. The manufacturer also informed the reporter that eugenol takes at least 48 hours to fully metabolize within fish.

At the Baida Agricultural Products Logistics Center in Suzhou, Anhui, the reporter found that the anesthetic MS-222, also known as甲盐, is not approved for use in edible live fish domestically. MS-222, chemically named ethyl 3-aminobenzoate methanesulfonate, is a white crystalline powder that anesthetizes fish.

After receiving this information, the National Market Supervision Administration attached great importance and quickly assessed the situation. They immediately coordinated and deployed efforts, jointly launching investigations and responses with the Chongqing Market Supervision Bureau and the Linyi Market Supervision Bureau.

On the early morning of March 17, at 4 a.m., Chongqing law enforcement conducted a surprise inspection of the Lebang Seafood Market, thoroughly checking all stalls and logistics. They inspected 35 vendors, seized 14 items of additives including eugenol, collected 3 samples of unknown liquids, 12 water samples, and 11 fish samples.

During a special inspection of the Qiangsheng Seafood Wholesale Market in Linyi, law enforcement officials investigated the purchase and use of suspected industrial alcohol, eugenol, and other substances. They also collected 6 fish samples and 7 water samples on-site for laboratory testing.