Panga still on the menu

THE fish increasingly known as panga will continue to be served in state-run schools and hospitals.

Carrefour recently stopped selling panga owing to its negative environmental impact and lack of controls in Vietnam and other Asian countries where it is farmed.

The Association of Spanish Paediatricians (AEP) joined the fray by recommending that panga be substituted by other white fish in children’s diets.

“Our country is surrounded by coast and more than likely other fish is available that is more nutritious and in keeping with our culinary traditions,” said Dr Jose Manual Moreno Villares, coordinator of the AEP’s Nutrition Committee.

Despite the bad publicity the Generalitat’s Health department said that it has no immediate plans to eliminate panga from school and hospital meals.

Panga enjoys the same hygiene guarantees as other species of commercially-marketed fish, the department argued.  “No specific chemical or microbiological dangers have been identified and therefore there is no need to restrict its sale,” an official statement declared.

The European Union and the Ministry of Health carry out checks in the countries where panga is produced and at EU entry points to ensure that panga exports comply with regulations, the Generalit maintained.