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Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

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Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#171

The talk of glutamic acid made me wonder if fish sauce is related to MSG. Gemini confirms MSG is just salt and glutamic acid, which is to say fish sauce is naturally derived MSG. Fun story: I was riding a motorcycle across Vietnam a few years ago. Made some friends on an excursion, and we all went to dinner together. The restaurant was a little outdoor kitchen and some picnic benches in front of an apartment building…

You can find msg in your local grocery store, usually under the Accent brand. I've seen two pound jars of it in Costco.

>I've seen two pound jars of it in Costco.

I took pictures of empty 100 lb (45 kg) MSG containers in the trash outside Bao restaurant on St Marks in NYC

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#172

Sounds like the Canadian Food Inspection agency screwed the town out of spite. Like they had a target on Ngo's back. Anyone have more details? From the linked Eater article: >He suggests that a prior conflict with the CFIA over product labeling motivated them to close the factory before the inspection began. Ngo claims that he had been vocal about their interactions, and speculates “if they shut [us] down, nobody mak…

I don’t think he was targeted but he met the reality of bureaucracy. One agency actually funded him and approved the building and allowed him to operate for 11 years. Another agency said you can’t operate or sell because of the growing mold. Another agency said dump the forbidden fish sauce in the sewer. Another agency said to bury it.

Choose one of the bureaucracies and shut it down. It doesnt even matter which one you choose, it will be a better outcome

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#173
post #51

Why on earth are they not composting it, but instead putting in a landfill and locking it up? What a dumb idea.

Salt... it has lots and lots of salt in it. It's been sitting for 20+ years. It isn't going to "compost" any more than it already has.

it is sitting right next to the ocean, which is where all that salt came from, just put it back

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#174
post #51

Why on earth are they not composting it, but instead putting in a landfill and locking it up? What a dumb idea.

Salt isn't conducive to things growing - or composting. High salt levels kill bacteria and hurt plants. Fish sauce is very high in salt.

marine life is unphased by salt; this fish sauce is former marine life

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#175

The talk of glutamic acid made me wonder if fish sauce is related to MSG. Gemini confirms MSG is just salt and glutamic acid, which is to say fish sauce is naturally derived MSG. Fun story: I was riding a motorcycle across Vietnam a few years ago. Made some friends on an excursion, and we all went to dinner together. The restaurant was a little outdoor kitchen and some picnic benches in front of an apartment building…

The MSG health panic was racism against Chinese people and their restaurants, nothing to do with health. So many foods and sauces contain glutamic acid yet nobody is complaining about their health being impacted when they eat them: Meat, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Cheese, Worcestershire Sauce, Marmite, Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, and Oyster Sauce to name a few.

When I make stews I'll often make a concoction of tomato paste, soy sauce, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce to massively boost the meatiness of the stew without making it taste like any of those ingredients in particular.

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not being from Toronto, never in a million years would I even think of that as a visitor.

How many visitors do you think would go to a restaurant intending to order a (hamburger) beef patty? The potential for confusion is overstated.

[deleted]

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#177

Can they not use some microbes to digest the sauce and reduce it to inert things like water and salt? I'm not a biologist, so pardon this naive take.

The salt is to ensure most microbes won’t survive, hence keeping it safe to eat.

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#178

I grew up in a seaside port and fishing community. 1st thing, what landlubbers think is stinky is not operative here, your thoughts are moo, like the opinion of a sea cow. The seacoast smells like rotten fish all the time, it's called low tide. The most vibrant sea biomes are shallow coastal waters. The capacity of the North Atlantic, rich with oxygen, to handle fish parts is basically limitless. Hell, you can probab…

You seem to be ignoring the salt that was added to those fish.

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#179

I grew up in a seaside port and fishing community. 1st thing, what landlubbers think is stinky is not operative here, your thoughts are moo, like the opinion of a sea cow. The seacoast smells like rotten fish all the time, it's called low tide. The most vibrant sea biomes are shallow coastal waters. The capacity of the North Atlantic, rich with oxygen, to handle fish parts is basically limitless. Hell, you can probab…

You seem to be ignoring the salt that was added to those fish.

The ocean is salty.

And dumping manure on a field can prevent growth, if you do too much.

So I would think some degree of dilution would be a good idea before dumping it in the ocean.

Re: Decades-old fish sauce at abandoned factory in Canada finally being removed

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Salt... it has lots and lots of salt in it. It's been sitting for 20+ years. It isn't going to "compost" any more than it already has.

it is sitting right next to the ocean, which is where all that salt came from, just put it back

The fish came from there too.
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