Live fish artificially sedated flowing to dining tables, possibly "consumed" industrial alcohol! "Financial Investigation" exposes →

Financial Investigation: Over the course of more than two months and across multiple provinces and cities, reporters conducted undercover investigations into water product markets, production enterprises, and dining establishments. At every stage of live fish circulation, a secret method to “hibernate” live fish was uncovered.

Artificial Anesthesia Causes Live Fish to “Hibernate”

“Three-No” Anesthetic Product Cloves Phenol Poses Health Risks

In the relatively large Chongqing Lebang Aquatic Market in Southwest China, a large number of long-distance transported live fish arrive in a “hibernating” state, appearing as dead fish in the water. After oxygenation, they quickly recover, and vendors uniformly call this “sleeping.”

After several days of undercover observation, reporters found that the “collective sleep” of live fish during long-distance transport is not an isolated case, but widespread. Vendors said “just a little treatment and they’re alive again,” confirming this is not natural hibernation but human intervention. Vendors change water and add oxygen, and within an hour, the “sleeping” fish immediately start swimming again.

During transportation, reporters saw workers add a bottle of liquid into buckets of live fish. After stirring, the lively fish instantly become quiet and limp.

The bottles of liquid held by workers are labeled “Fish Guard Treasure,” an sedative containing cloves phenol, a “three-no” product (no production date, no manufacturer, no license).

Vendors say adding anesthetics during live fish transportation makes handling easier and prevents fish scales from falling off. Although the highly toxic and carcinogenic malachite green was banned in 2002 and has largely disappeared from the market, “dizzy fish king” and “fish safety treasure,” products mainly containing cloves phenol, have quietly appeared. Medical experts warn that long-term, large-scale use of cloves phenol can damage the liver and kidneys, and special populations such as pregnant women and children should use it cautiously and avoid combining it with anticoagulants or sedatives.

From a consumer protection perspective, China has not included cloves phenol in the list of approved drugs for aquatic farming, but it is also not explicitly banned. This unregulated anesthetic, with unclear side effects, is secretly used by some merchants during water transport.

Industrial Alcohol Mixed with “Three-No” Anesthetics

Market Regulators Turn a Blind Eye

Following the trail northward, reporters found that in Shandong Linyi Qiangsheng Seafood Wholesale Market, live fish transportation also involves the use of anesthetics, with some merchants directly using industrial alcohol.

Research revealed that industrial alcohol contains highly toxic methanol, which can cause blindness, organ damage, and death if ingested. The use of industrial alcohol in food processing is strictly prohibited by national regulations. The anesthetic made by mixing industrial alcohol with “three-no” cloves phenol poses a food safety risk when inhaled by live fish.

At the scene, vendors were seen casually adding anesthetic into fish baskets and water pools, with doses and concentrations based on feel—just a few bottle caps could anesthetize thousands of pounds of fish.

Market officials sternly told reporters that the market does not permit the use of anesthetics. However, industrial alcohol and large barrels of mixed anesthetic are openly displayed and ignored by management.

This is not limited to the Linyi market. In Chongqing Lebang Aquatic Market, officials said that daily live fish sampling of 14 categories does not include cloves phenol; the national standards do not regulate fish anesthetics, nor are they included in testing.

MS-222 Anesthetic Also Used for Fish Sedation

Regulatory Gaps Lead to “Drunk Fish” on the Table

The “Financial Investigation” team found a manufacturer in Ji’an, Jiangxi Province, that produces cloves phenol. The manufacturer admitted that raw materials are imported from Indonesia and sold as food additives, but are used by fish vendors to anesthetize live fish. Some small workshops purchase raw materials and package them as “three-no” anesthetics for market sale. The manufacturer informed that cloves phenol is fully metabolized within fish in at least 48 hours.

Another factory revealed that because cloves phenol is insoluble in water, merchants often mix it with industrial alcohol to facilitate rapid penetration and effect.

At the Suzhou Bada Agricultural Products Logistics Center, vehicles transporting fish frequently operate, and the use of anesthetics has become routine. The team found that MS-222, an anesthetic not approved for use on edible live fish in China, is being used.

On-site, industrial alcohol used for mixing anesthetics was found stored in a blue plastic barrel that originally contained asphalt.

The merchant showed reporters MS-222, also known as tricaine methanesulfonate, a white crystalline powder that anesthetizes fish.

Currently, China has not conducted safety evaluations on the use of cloves phenol or MS-222 in live aquatic products. Neither substance is on the list of permitted substances for aquaculture, and there are no regulations on usage doses or residue limits. Market testing options are also absent.

Some grass carp in Chongqing Lebang Aquatic Market, anesthetized with cloves phenol, remain unresponsive when transported to restaurants.

National Market Supervision and Administration Conducts Surprise Inspections

Strengthening Food Safety Defenses

After investigations across multiple markets, the “Financial Investigation” team promptly submitted detailed evidence to the State Administration for Market Regulation. Upon receiving this information, the agency attached great importance, quickly assessed the situation, and coordinated with Chongqing Market Supervision Administration and Linyi Market Supervision Administration in Shandong to initiate joint investigations.

At 4 a.m. on March 17, Chongqing law enforcement teams assembled and conducted a surprise inspection of Chongqing Lebang Aquatic Market. From a consumer protection standpoint, cloves phenol is not approved for use in aquaculture, and some merchants’ use of such anesthetics clearly violates national regulations.

During enforcement, authorities found 25 kilograms of cloves phenol, indicating large-scale, routine illegal addition; another team discovered a worn green beverage bottle containing an unknown transparent liquid in a fish transport truck at the market logistics parking lot. These trucks regularly shuttle between provinces and cities, transporting live fish for aquaculture businesses. Authorities suspect that merchants use “sedation during transport + market sale for freshness” to minimize fish loss and maintain appearance.

This special enforcement covered all stalls and logistics, inspecting 35 merchants, seizing 14 items of additives including cloves phenol, and collecting three samples of unknown liquids, 12 water samples, and 11 fish samples for testing.

In a special inspection of the Linyi Qiangsheng Seafood Wholesale Market, officials found 30 to 40 empty bottles of “cloves phenol concentrate” at stall 63, with a strong odor. The merchant admitted they were used as anesthetics for live fish.

Authorities also found industrial alcohol used for mixing anesthetics in the market.

A surprise inspection was conducted on all 17 aquatic product merchants operating in the wholesale market. Investigators examined purchase and usage details of suspected industrial alcohol, cloves phenol, and other substances, and collected six fish samples and seven water samples for laboratory testing.