Especially for pregnant women, because swordfish are basically deep-water fish and contain a lot of pollutants in their bodies, it is best not to eat them unless you are sure that the raw materials used to make swordfish are from unpolluted waters.
People who like to eat canned swordfish should pay attention to a balanced diet, eat more fresh vegetables, fruits, beans and potatoes, improve their ability to resist pollution, and avoid the adverse health effects of long-term consumption of large amounts of canned swordfish.
A report in the U.S. Consumer Reports emphasized that canned swordfish contains excessive mercury, which puts people who eat it in danger. Therefore, pregnant women, who are in a high-risk group, should not eat canned swordfish.
That issue of Consumer Reports also stated that some examples were found in the latest inspection results, which showed that canned swordfish contained a lot of dangerous heavy metal mercury, and if such canned swordfish was consumed, it would cause great harm to the human body.
Xiang Yang knew that due to factors such as fish raw materials and production process management, many canned swordfish products had certain safety risks.
The main manifestations are histamine sensitization in fish raw materials and botulism poisoning caused by improper sealing and sterilization.
The real canned swordfish processing process involves raw material processing, sorting, trimming, canning, sealing, sterilization and cooling. Like other foods, the processing environment, mechanical equipment, processing water, material shaking and operators may all become sources of microbial contamination.
However, for canned swordfish made directly from the sea like Xiang Yang does, these phenomena will not occur.
Because from the entry of raw materials into the factory to sterilization and cooling, there are two links that are extremely susceptible to microbial contamination.
First, food raw materials often come into contact with the external environment during production, processing, transportation and storage, and microorganisms in the external environment often invade food and cause food contamination.
Second, in the canning process, the raw materials that have been cleaned and disinfected should be canned as soon as possible, otherwise it is easy to cause contamination. That is, when the sterilization or sealing process is incomplete, the canned food will easily spoil and become inedible.
Xiang Yang caught the swordfish directly at sea, and then processed the raw materials directly on the processing mothership, completely omitting these two processes.
Therefore, if you do not have the channels to directly purchase these first-hand sources from the sea, then when choosing canned swordfish, you should try to choose big brands as much as possible.
In addition to strictly controlling the raw material selection, processing, and sterilization procedures, the big-brand canned food companies also disinfect and sterilize the raw material storage rooms, production workshops, and canning workshops, and maintain a sterile environment for canning and sealing.
Small workshops would probably simply skip this step due to cost reasons.
In addition, during the storage and sales process of canned swordfish, rough loading and unloading should be avoided. The canned swordfish should be stored in a clean, dry, ventilated and cool place.
In short, the control of microbial contamination in canned swordfish food is a very complex systematic project. A complete set of feasible comprehensive measures must be taken in production to minimize contamination. These cannot be perfectly handled in a short period of time.
Another is the residue of heavy metals in canned fish. With the rapid development of industry, wastewater containing heavy metals enters various sea areas every year. Toxic heavy metal substances accumulate in aquatic organisms through enrichment and reach a certain concentration. Fish, which originally provide people with rich protein, become carriers of concentrated toxins, thereby endangering human health.
Even if the canned food is packaged in a sealed container and undergoes moderate heat sterilization to achieve commercial sterility, and can be stored for a long time at room temperature, it is difficult to perfectly eliminate its toxins, but Xiang Yang knows that the trade in canned swordfish will never end.
Canned swordfish is a traditional food with various packaging forms and varieties. It is easy to eat and carry. It is extremely convenient and important for dietary supplement for mobile workers such as those traveling, working in the field, national defense, industry and mining, and exploration.
Even though they know it is harmful to their health, many people will still eat it.
Just like cigarettes, even though it’s clearly written on the cigarette box that smoking is harmful to health, many people still smoke.
Generally speaking, as long as canned swordfish does not show severe corrosion, people will eat it.
Just then, Xiang Yang suddenly heard a scream.
"What's wrong?" Xiang Yang asked hurriedly.
"Brother Yang, look here." Fang Youqun shouted.
Xiang Yang looked over there and saw a swordfish lying there that was more than four meters long and had a very ferocious appearance.
"This swordfish is pretty good. Hurry, lift it into the live water tank. Be careful when lifting it, and don't get hurt by it." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
Swordfish are quite ferocious. They are the top predators in their depth range. Their food includes all other pelagic fish, tuna, loaches, flying fish, squid and other cephalopods and crustaceans.
Swordfish also have very keen eyesight to spot prey, and their white muscles provide energy for their striking.
A hunting swordfish can easily tear its prey into pieces or swallow it whole.
Swordfish feed during the day, and as they move up and down in the water, many small shrimps, fish, and squids are unable to successfully avoid predators due to changes in light intensity and eventually become food for the swordfish.
A crazed swordfish capable of piercing even the bottom of a boat, its unique muscle and brown fat tissue provide warm blood to the brain and eyes, allowing it to reach the extremely cold depths of the ocean.
"Brother Yang, aren't you surprised at all that this swordfish is so big?" Fang Youqun asked.
"Surprised?" Xiang Yang asked back.
"Yes." Fang Youqun nodded and said, "Look, this swordfish is so big. Its size is several times that of other ordinary swordfish."
Xiang Yang smiled and shook his head. "What's so surprising about this? I've even seen six-meter swordfish, let alone four-meter ones."
Although swordfish are generally only two meters long, their maximum length can reach six meters.
Currently, the largest swordfish caught by humans weighs 650 kilograms.
Female swordfish are usually larger than male swordfish.
In the Pacific Ocean, the large swordfish found by humans measure an average of three meters in length. The swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean can weigh up to 320 kilograms, but in the Mediterranean, the weight of an adult swordfish is usually less than 250 kilograms.
Xiang Yang smiled and patted Fang Youqun's shoulder. "Don't just stand there. Hurry up and process all these swordfish. Keep the big ones in the water tank and process the small ones into canned food."
The meat of young swordfish is more delicious than that of adult swordfish. It can be dried with salt and preserved for a long time. It can also be processed into canned food, fish sausages, fish ham, etc., which are all very delicious marine products.