A note concerning pre-packaged frozen fish

[kibakiba]

My response was to Sonya.

And I appologize for the hit of snark in all of my posts, it's that time of the month, and I live with a very stupid woman.

[Sonya610]

Okay regarding Sally's San Francisco Bay Brand....their website looks legit. I am sure a phone call tomorrow can settle the speculation regarding where they buy their product and if chemicals are used. I will report back. The founders/current president is a German, named Schmidt, so that makes me suspect they are legit, but not at all sure as well...just not sure...will report back tomorrow. My gut says China but we shall see.

Tropical fish food, Sand Eels, Bloodworms, Beef heart and Natural Formulated Diets San Francisco.

[Invisible Snake]

This is an old thread discussing silversides, hope it helps. http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husb...lversides.html

[kibakiba]

People have done it before. They freeze them in water without chemicals, that is what people have said. There are many many threads on them. I don't see why you are that skeptical, considering hundreds of users have used them without any problems. Do you think your case is any different from theirs, that the one package you buy is going to be different and filled with chemicals?

[d_virginiana]

I just bought a pack of PetSmart silversides. I happened to see them and thought I'd give it a try since my new baby hasn't been converted to pinkies yet... Even though I realize it's probably a very low possibility given how many people use them I still with no problems, I still get paranoid.

[Sonya610]

People have done it before. They freeze them in water without chemicals, that is what people have said.

Uhhh...what? They freeze them in water without chemicals? What in the heck is that supposed to mean? Look...you may be pms'ing...and maybe I am too. Your statements... you have never bought them, never seen the package, but claim they freeze them in "chemical free water" (not at all sure why they would freeze fish in water, some sort of euthanasia thing after they net them out of the ocean?).

Caution...otherwise Stefan is going to have to step in and clean up this thread when it becomes unpleasant, and it is very close to becoming unpleasant.

I said I would call tomorrow, and I will, and then I will report back.

[kibakiba]

I'm basing it off what people have said. You are not the only person to call the company. You do know you don't even have to respond to my posts, right? They freeze them in water to keep them fresher and prevent freezer burn.

[Sonya610]

I'm basing it off what people have said. You are not the only person to call the company. You do know you don't even have to respond to my posts, right? They freeze them in water to keep them fresher and prevent freezer burn.

People have said....okay then. People have called the company too? Which people? And yes I know I don't have to respond to your posts, but I don't give a "free pass" like most others here do. You addressed my posts and in return I respond.

So yeah maybe this Schmidt running the Sally's San Francisco Bay Brand company is running his own ships out of the San Fran Bay to collect this fine organic chemical free reptile/fish food. Maybe his staff is ensuring they are frozen in "chemical free water".

Maybe he is....anything is possible.

[Sonya610]

Okay I made some calls and had limited success.

First Vendor: Rain Forest Aquaculture, the Tilapia aqua farms based in Costa Rica. Called their Florida office and quickly realized English is not their preferred language (unless of course you are going to spend money). The girl told me to "send an email" and they will get back to me. Yeah right, I don't expect a response, perhaps I will send another email saying I want to purchase and then they will reply.

Second Vendor: ClearSprings Trout Farm in Idaho. Good news here, receptionist asked someone else and immediately told me the Trout fillets/whole fish do not get treated with STPP, but implied the "specialty" fish does (Specialty apparently refers to breaded prepared frozen trout).

Third Vendor: Sally's San Francisco Bay Brand. A sales rep told me they do buy the silversides from suppliers in Asia, when I asked about STPP she had no clue what I was talking about and transferred me to some guy named Sumit (who didn't pick up his phone). I called back and also got the buyers name and I would think he could answer the question.

Worrisome thing about Sodium Tripolyphosphate labeling is that growers/processors do NOT just use it as a preservative. If the fish is soaked in water and then soaked in a vat of STPP (yes, a vat, that appears to be the method of application) it can add at least 20% more weight to the fish. Shady Asian suppliers that want to make mo' money could easily decide to treat their 1000 lbs of fish with it and suddenly be able to sell 1200 or 1400 lbs instead! A whole lot of Asian countries have little or no oversight hence the lethal toxic pet food and lethal baby food scandals.

[xStatic]

Okay I made some calls and had limited success.

First Vendor: Rain Forest Aquaculture, the Tilapia aqua farms based in Costa Rica. Called their Florida office and quickly realized English is not their preferred language (unless of course you are going to spend money). The girl told me to "send an email" and they will get back to me. Yeah right, I don't expect a response, perhaps I will send another email saying I want to purchase and then they will reply.

Second Vendor: ClearSprings Trout Farm in Idaho. Good news here, receptionist asked someone else and immediately told me the Trout fillets/whole fish do not get treated with STPP, but implied the "specialty" fish does (Specialty apparently refers to breaded prepared frozen trout).

Third Vendor: Sally's San Francisco Bay Brand. A sales rep told me they do buy the silversides from suppliers in Asia, when I asked about STPP she had no clue what I was talking about and transferred me to some guy named Sumit (who didn't pick up his phone). I called back and also got the buyers name and I would think he could answer the question.

Worrisome thing about Sodium Tripolyphosphate labeling is that growers/processors do NOT just use it as a preservative. If the fish is soaked in water and then soaked in a vat of STPP (yes, a vat, that appears to be the method of application) it can add at least 20% more weight to the fish. Shady Asian suppliers that want to make mo' money could easily decide to treat their 1000 lbs of fish with it and suddenly be able to sell 1200 or 1400 lbs instead! A whole lot of Asian countries have little or no oversight hence the lethal toxic pet food and lethal baby food scandals.

I'm sure all of this is true, especially the fish intended for human consumption, but I don't think there is any reason to not feed "Sally's San Francisco Bay Brand" since such a great number of reputable people on this site have been feeding this specific brand of fish for a long time. If these fish were toxic we would be seeing a lot more snakes dying.

I'm not trying to minimize the issue or say that it isn't an issue, but it probably isn't worth freaking a whole bunch of people out by saying that Sally's San Francisco Bay Brand silversides are probably treated with STPP because they are packaged in Asia. The evidence from keepers on this forum shows that this brand is safe to feed to your snakes.

Many products you use/consume are produced/packaged in Asia, and the average person probably doesn't take notice of this fact. It's true that goods imported from Asia have been known to contain harmful substances or be faulty, but I think the rate of these incidents are blown out of proportion by the media. It's not fair to automatically make the assumption that any product being imported from Asia is contaminated with harmful chemicals or is junk.

I have a lot of respect for the amount of care and compassion you have for your pets. However I think this situation was blown into something it didn't need to be. Sally's San Francisco Bay Brand silversides should be OK for keepers to feed to their snakes as has been demonstrated by owners on this site. You might also want reconsider whether phrases such as "Shady Asian suppliers that want to make mo' money..." could be hurtful to people who may belong to certain racial, social, religious, etc. groups.