Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Excessive cadmium found in internal organs of crabs
By Lee Hyo-sik
Excessive amounts of cadmium, a heavy metal known as a carcinogen, were found in the internal organs of blue and snow crabs caught in waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the Busan Federation for Environmental Movements (BFEM) said Wednesday.
The civic group said its researchers examined nearly 90 samples of 20 marine products from August to October.
The levels of mercury in all sea foods were found to be below the legally-allowed limit, but crabs and octopus showed levels of cadmium above the standard-permitted.
“Out of four blue crab samples, the three showed cadmium levels exceeding the legal limit by 1.15 to 10 times. One in three snow crab samples had levels above the standard, while two out of four octopus samples were found to contain high levels of the heavy metal,” a BFEM official said.
But besides their internal organs, cadmium levels in other parts were below the legal limit.
“We decided to test the organs of marine products because many Koreans consume them. The government should introduce a comprehensive package of measures to better ensure the safety of fisheries goods to protect consumers,” the official said.