Wang Lei, a researcher at the Institute of Oceanography, China Academy of Sciences, said that shark fin has no pharmacological effect. "An important reason why many people are keen on eating shark fin is that shark can't get cancer, but ordinary consumers don't know that shark can't get cancer because it has its own unique serum and has nothing to do with shark fin."

In fact, shark's fin is one of the eight treasures of seafood, which is expensive. However, a reporter from the Economic Information Daily recently visited and found that the prices of shark fin dishes in many hotels vary greatly, ranging from tens to hundreds of yuan per catty. Behind the price chaos, a black interest chain selling synthetic shark fins gradually emerged. The "three noes" artificial shark fins with no production date, no inspection mark and no import mark were bought by the hotel at a price of several tens of yuan and changed hands into thousands of high-end foods for sale. Experts in the industry believe that consumers have long misunderstood the nutritional value of shark fin. Even the real shark fin is only equivalent to "pig's feet" and "chicken skin", so the unhealthy consumption view of shark fin should rest.

Twenty yuan "vegetarian shark's fin" turns into thousands of dollars. Haizhen

The Economic Information Daily reporter made unannounced visits in Guangzhou, Jinan and other places in the name of opening hotels, and found that in addition to the real shark's fin, which costs hundreds of yuan and thousands of yuan a catty, there is another kind of "vegetarian shark's fin" (synthetic shark's fin) packed in plastic bags, which is golden dry "fans", and you only need 2 yuan to buy a catty.

Wang Shaobo, honorary president of Guangzhou Seafood Dried Fruit Industry Chamber of Commerce, said that China is a big importer of shark fin in the world. With the development of China's economy and living standards, shark fin has become more and more popular on the dining table. According to insiders, shark's fin is made of peeled flesh such as shark's dorsal fin and caudal fin, which is expensive. Due to different quality, the wholesale price of 1 kg of boneless real shark's fin generally ranges from 3, yuan in 8 yuan. The huge profit margin has prompted many unscrupulous traders to make "bad ideas".

In Jinan seafood market, a salesperson of a shark fin dealership told the Economic Information Daily that shark fins are generally divided into three types according to different parts: golden hook wing, tooth pick wing (main wing) and back wing (only wing), and the price will be determined according to shark species, fin parts, shape and size, moisture content, wing emergence rate and other factors. Most restaurants use teeth to pick wings, and the wholesale price per 5g is about from 6 yuan to 8 yuan. After professional cooking, including labor and seasoning costs, the cost price of a genuine shark fin soup is about 6 yuan.

"If a bowl of shark's fin soup is made of real shark's fin, the price of each bowl in the restaurant is at least higher than that in 15 yuan. I dare say that a bowl of shark's fin that costs tens of dollars is basically made of vegetarian shark's fin."

A vice-president of Guangzhou Seafood Dried Fruit Industry Chamber of Commerce told the reporter that a bag of "vegetarian shark's fin" weighing 5g and priced at 2 yuan can cook shark's fin soup for more than a dozen people, and the cost of a bowl of "vegetarian shark's fin" soup is only a few yuan.

The reporter visited some hotels in Guangzhou and found that the prices of shark fin soup sold in different hotels are quite different. For example, the price of shark fin soup in some five-star hotels is 498 yuan or even 698 yuan. According to this calculation, a catty of vegetarian shark fin in 2 yuan can be processed into high-grade shark fin of 6, yuan to 7, yuan, while some food stalls and roadside stalls even have shark fin products. A bowl of shark fin soup with pictures similar to those in five-star hotels only needs 48 yuan as a minimum.

An Neng can tell whether "I" is true or not

"Shark's fin is tasteless, and it's all cooked in soup". Chefs in Guangzhou, Jinan and other places told reporters that the key to making fake shark's fin genuine lies in the practice and soup. Yang Zhiqiang, vice president of Guangzhou Seafood Dried Fruit Industry Chamber of Commerce, told the Economic Information Daily that because shark fin is not delicious when eaten alone, it still smells slightly fishy. The "delicious" source of a bowl of shark fin soup is mainly its ingredients-ham, old chicken and other soup. After adding the soup, the original flavor of shark's fin is hidden in the soup, so you can't feel the difference between true and false shark's fin when you eat it.

According to the investigation by the reporter of Economic Reference Wave, the real shark's fin is fin-shaped, while the dried artificial shark's fin is mostly coiled into vermicelli, so it is easy to distinguish from the appearance. However, according to some chefs who cook shark's fin, these "vegetarian shark's fin", which doesn't even have fish, can be confused with the real one. After special cooking, it is difficult for professional chefs to distinguish them.

An industry insider who asked not to be named told reporters that about 4% of shark fin consumed in the domestic market is supported by vegetarian shark fin, and its processing raw material is mainly edible gelatin, which has low cost and amazing profits. "Among them, vegetarian shark fin produced in Japan can be the best one, and all kinds of soups and ingredients are prepared, so it can be directly put into the pot without preparation. After it is made, it will be a food expert.

Wang Xinglan, president of Shandong Shandong Shandong Cuisine Research Association, told the reporter that some "shark's fin" looks neat in specifications and bright in color. However, it is still unknown whether there are "wings" among them, and it may have been stripped of "wings" and only a few "cartilage" are left; Most hotel owners only care about the turnover and don't care about the authenticity of shark fins. Only the chef in charge of purchasing can master this "secret".

According to Master Liu, the deputy chef of a hotel in Guangzhou, the low-priced shark fin is basically a fake, because the cost of real shark fin will not drop to tens of yuan a catty, but the expensive shark fin is not necessarily the real shark fin. "For example, in shark fin fishing, thick soup and rice are generally mixed together. Even consumers who often eat shark fins can't tell the truth from the truth. It is not excluded that some high-end hotels also make profits from this. After all, fake goods can earn dozens of times." He said.

The reporter asked where these "vegetarian shark fins" came from, how they were imported and which restaurants they were sold to, but the sales staff refused to disclose them.

The reporter learned from the sales staff of Jinan Seafood Market and several shark fin dealerships in Guangzhou that at present, it has not been heard that shark fins are directly imported, produced and processed in Shandong, and all shark fins in Shandong are directly purchased from Guangdong, with a purchase amount ranging from several hundred kilograms to less than one hundred kilograms.

Nutrition is only equivalent to "trotters" and "chicken skin"

The Economic Information Daily reporter interviewed experts in the fields of nutrition and marine science and learned that shark fin nutrition is only equivalent to "trotters" and "chicken skin", and the so-called consumption concept of "sharks can't get cancer" actually lies in the unique serum of sharks and has nothing to do with shark fin.

Du Huizhen, vice president of Shandong Nutrition Society, said that "wing, ginseng, swallow and abalone" are the four top seafood in China's traditional diet concept. Ordinary consumers think that shark's fin is the top tonic, but this concept is actually wrong.

According to Du Huizhen, the main nutritional component of shark's fin is collagen, with an average of 8 grams of collagen per 1 grams. However, collagen is not a high-quality protein in chicken, duck and fish. The high price of shark's fin is actually caused by "rare things are expensive", and it is also influenced by investors' speculation and people's psychology of comparing with others, so its nutritional value is not particularly high. "Collagen is an incomplete protein. Without tryptophan, it cannot be converted into a complete protein, and its nutritional value is almost the same as that of pig's trotters, chicken skin and fish skin." She said.

However, according to experts and insiders, due to the lack of relevant standards, a bowl of shark fin soup contains limited nutrients, which may pose many hidden dangers for consumers' health.

According to experts such as Du Huizhen, sharks are at the top of the marine food chain, and the enrichment of heavy metals in their bodies is relatively common, among which heavy metal mercury is mostly concentrated in the shark fin, which is likely to cause male infertility and damage the kidneys and central nervous system; However, due to the relatively small overall consumption of shark fin in China for a long time, the food inspection department has not yet carried out routine detection of mercury content in shark fin, nor has it been investigated and dealt with.

Wang Lei, a researcher at the Institute of Oceanography, China Academy of Sciences, said that shark fin has no pharmacological effect. "An important reason why many people are keen on eating shark fin is that shark can't get cancer, but ordinary consumers don't know that shark can't get cancer because it has its own unique serum and has nothing to do with shark fin."

according to the reporter's investigation, compared with the heavy metal problem of real shark fin, the problem of "vegetarian shark fin" is more prominent. The main component of "vegetarian shark's fin" is so-called "edible gelatin". Because the production technology of gelatin and leather protein is basically the same, it is difficult to determine the source of raw materials for refining "vegetarian shark's fin". Because fake shark fin is basically a three-no product, it is impossible to determine its manufacturing process, so the possibility of refining it with industrial materials cannot be ruled out.