10 kg rotten fish destroyed in raid at Dindigul market

As per the directive from the Commissioner of Food Safety, P Amudha, a team led by District Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), K Natarajan, visited the fish market to check whether fishes were being laced with formalin, a cancer-causing chemical used to illegally preserve fish.

Although, the officials did not find such illegality in any of the stalls, they recovered 10 kg of rotten, which was seized and destroyed. The officials warned the vendors that necessary action will be taken as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, they were found selling rotten fish. Fish consumers need to be cautious and must test the quality of the fish before purchasing it, said an official.

The team also raided shops selling eggs to check whether they are selling ‘plastic eggs’. However, an official ruled out the ‘rumours’ that ‘plastic eggs’ were being sold in the market.

Similarly, raids were also conducted in Thoothukudi, where six fish samples have been procured from various points and were tested with ‘formalin test kits’. However, the officials did not find any fish laced with formalin, District Food Safety Officer, J Thangavignesh, said. Besides oesophageal cancer, formalin is also known to cause ulcer, digestion problems and skin irritation, he added.

According to P Jeyashakeela, Professor at Referral Lab for Fish Quality Monitoring and Certification, a unit of Tamil Nadu Fisheries University in Thoothukudi, said that there is a growing demand for the formalin test kits, which costs Rs 3,000 and can be used to conduct 25 tests each.