Bhubaneswar: There’s bad news for fish eaters with the cancer-causing chemical formalin being detected in fish samples taken from the Unit-IV market here, Friday.
Confirming the development, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Pradeep Maharathy Friday said, “traces of cancer-causing formalin were found in pomfret fish samples collected from Unit-4 fish market in Bhubaneswar.”
A 12-member team led by fisheries joint director went to the Unit-IV market Friday morning and collected samples of pomfret, rohu, bhakura, gadihsa from various shops and sent these for laboratory tests, Maharathy said.
Out of nine varieties of freshwater and marine fishes collected from the Unit-IV fish market area, the sample of pomfret fish was found to have formalin, he said.
“The pomfret sample collected from Ratnakar Behera (shop No-3) of the market has tested positive and efforts are on to ascertain from where the seller had procured the stock and the entire stock will be destroyed if more fishes test positive,” Maharathy said.
The minister further said his department would instruct the collectors of 10 districts to form a task force and conduct sample tests of fish after collecting them from different parts of their respective districts.
Earlier in the day, departmental secretary Vishal Gagan said special kits have been sent to all coastal districts, where marine fish trading is being done.
Committees will be formed by the district collectors to keep a close watch on the export and import of marine fish to ensure that the consumers get fresh fish, he stated.
Asked about the future course of action in this regard, the secretary said, “As only one sample has tested positive out of nine, we are now concentrating on collecting information from various parts of the state and will take appropriate decision regarding a ban on fish imports.”
Interestingly, Ratnakar Behera said he had imported the fish from Paradip. “Usually pomfret fishes are being imported to our market from Odisha’s coastal areas like Pradip, Astarang, Chandrabhaga, etc, not from Andhra Pradesh. Rohi, bhakura, prawn and some other fishes are being imported from Andhra,” Behera told Orissa POST.
As the state has failed to produce required quantity of fish, it
depends on other states specially Andhra Pradesh to meet its
fish demand.
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