Eels deemed ‘unsafe’ to eat by FDA, but company smuggled them to US anyway, feds say

A California company re-imported frozen roasted eels, known as unagi, previously rejected by the Food and Drug Administration for being “unsafe for human consumption,” federal officials reported.

A 41-year-old owner of Yong Chang Trading Co. Ltd. pleaded guilty May 31 to smuggling and introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a June 5 news release.

The man, of Pomona, admitted to re-importing unagi that had been rejected by the FDA for containing Gentian Violet, Leucogentian Violet and Malachite Green, unsafe new animal drugs, prosecutors said.

The antibiotics and drugs can leave residue in edible food that can boost “antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens,” the release said.

Prolonged exposure to two of the drugs also can be carcinogenic, prosecutors said.

“This individual showed complete disregard for the health and safety of the U.S. consumer by knowingly bringing tainted products into the market,” said Eddy Wang of Homeland Security.

The company’s owner, who is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 14, faces up to 21 years in prison.

This story was originally published June 6, 2023 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Eels deemed ‘unsafe’ to eat by FDA, but company smuggled them to US anyway, feds say."