THE country's first freshwater fish with a quality guarantee is now being sold on the local market, after a series of fish safety scandals.

Each fish produced by the Tongwei Group, China's largest aquatic feed producer, carries a green-edged label showing a Tongwei logo and the fish farmer's name and hotline number on the dorsal fin.

By contacting the fish farmer, consumers can discover the fish's birth place, the environment it was raised in, and quality inspection records.

Tongwei Group said that in case of any problems, consumers would easily be able to reach the producer for negotiations.

"The label is expected to provide an identity card system for fish, which can help to track the fish's whole production process and offer a quality guarantee for consumers," said Huang Qigang, publicity official with the Tongwei Group.

Last November, turbot raised in Shandong Province was banned from sale after the city's food safety watchdog discovered carcinogenic antibiotics residue in fish samples.

Earlier, freshwater fish such as dace and mandarin fish were reported to be tainted with malachite green, a poisonous chemical.

Fish carrying the quality guarantee is priced 20 percent to 30 percent higher than ordinary fish.

Producers said that the labeled fish was now available in more than 30 local wet markets, with a daily sales volume exceeding 500 kilograms.