Panga is grown near the Mekong in Vietnam, one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The fish is grown in sewage basins that contain high levels of toxins and bacteria that end up in the meat.
Pangasius is the scientific family name for some types of freshwater catfish found mainly in Vietnam, Cambodia and neighboring countries. Like the US catfish industry, aquaculture production techniques have been applied to these species and the number of fish raised in cages and ponds in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam has increased rapidly.
In addition, the meat was found to contain heavy metals, chlorate, isomers, hexachlorobenzene and other harmful compounds. The United States has banned the importation of Basa fish because of the high levels of contaminants in the meat and the suspicion that it contains antibiotics.
This variety of fish is very unhealthy because it is mainly fed with waste that can harm your health. In the wild, the fish grows 4 times slower, but the Basa fish sold in the markets is injected with antibiotics and hormones that are supposed to make the fish bigger.
Its meat contains hormones that accelerate the growth and reproduction of fish, then it is sold in partnership with large companies that have no respect for human health. The Panga is sold at a very low price which attracts supermarkets and their customers to buy them, without being aware of the poor quality of their meat.
In the rest of this article, you will be able to see some of the reasons that make this fish a real danger to your health.
The fish is very deficient “nutritionally speaking” and does not contain enough omega-3 acids or other essential nutrients found in natural fish. It may be decent in taste, but this fish is very dangerous to your health, so you should avoid it.
The pangas are fed with food that comes from Peru, the hormones that are injected into the female Pangas come from China. Essentially, they inject fish with them to speed up the process of growth and reproduction.
There is nothing natural about the Pangas, they are fed with remains of dead fish and bone, dried and ground into flour, from South America, cassava and soybean residues and cereals. This type of food does not look like what they eat in nature.
But this has a great resemblance to the feeding method of crazy cows. What they do eat pangas is completely unregulated, so there are probably other dangerous substances and hormones thrown into the mix.
Pangas grow at a phenomenal rate, practically! 4 times faster than in nature, which is far from encouraging for the discerning consumer. If for the stated reasons you are not immediately subject to vomiting, diarrhea and severe food poisoning effects, you at least know that you are poison ing not fish.
Pangas are not ecologically sustainable, they are the most unsustainable foods you can eat, buy local products to encourage small traders and guarantee less environmental damage. It is the opposite end of the spectrum of consumerism that invades society.
Important note:
Because of the prodigious amount of availability of Pangas, be warned that they will certainly find their way into other foods: surimi, fish sticks, fish terrines and possibly pet food.
