A fishery cooperative in Owase, Mie Prefecture, halted virtually all shipments of its farmed fish after learning that a farm in the region used a banned hormone disrupter as a parasite repellent, the cooperative said Saturday.
The cooperative voluntarily suspended shipments Wednesday, and no health problems have been reported.
The Fisheries Agency will visit the fish farm in Owase to determine whether the reported substance, an organic tin compound known as tributyltine (TBT), was used by fish farms elsewhere in the country.