The AVA has been doing an excellent job in ensuring food safety in Singapore. I am sure that extensive testing has been done for the specially bred sea bass. Moderate consumption of such fish should not impose an increased health risk.

Fish farming and consumption of farmed fish is already a reality. While fish stock in the oceans and rivers is depleting rapidly, demand is increasing. The only way to meet the demand and to keep fish prices affordable is through intensive farming.

Even though farmed fish is safe to consume, consumers should know the difference. Chefs have pointed out that farmed sea bass has a looser flesh.

Texture aside, the real difference of farmed fish can very well be the nutrition contents. We know that fish is a very good source of nutrients such as Omega-3 oil, minerals and vitamins. Nutrition contents in farmed fish and those growing in the wild can be considerably different. Thus, long-term consumption of farmed fish may cause nutrition imbalance if you have the impression that all fish will give you enough nutrients such as Omega-3.

Today, it is a real challenge for consumers to know the source of the fish they buy. If they buy it from supermarkets, they may see a label stating the country of origin. But they still can't tell if the fish is farm grown or caught from the wild. If they buy their fish from the wet market, every fishmonger will say that his salmon is from Norway, though it may just be from an industrialised fish farm off the coast of Canada.

Consumers do understand that wildly grown food, be it fish or fruits, are more nutritious and are more prized. A good example is ginseng. Wildly grown ginseng can be a lot more expensive than farmed ones. People pay for it because the properties can be vastly different.

I would like to suggest that AVA mandates retailers to clearly state the source of the fish on sale - not just the country but also how it is obtained, farmed or caught from the wild. This will certainly help consumers to make better informed buying decisions.

Chen Bin