GUWAHATI: In tandem with the ongoing drives against formalin-laced fishes in several parts of the country, the Assam public health department, too, has started taking samples of the same randomly from different fish markets in the city.
As part of the various ongoing drives by the Assam minister of state for health & family welfare, Pijush Hazarika, who had visited various shops and markets with officials of the state food safety and public health departments, several samples have already been taken.
“The drives were further followed by the officials of public health department in the Betkuchi, Ganeshguri and several other markets of the city. Those samples have been sent to the public laboratory for testing. We are waiting for the results,” a source in the department said.
The drive against such fish was first started with the launch of Operation Sagar Rani back in 2017 by the Kerela food safety department which was later followed by several drives in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the primary supplier of fish to northeast. Last month, the Kohima district administration had seized 21,600 kgs of fish worth more than Rs 10 lakhs coming from south India in the Nagaland capital. This followed a statewide ban of the same in Nagaland. In Meghalaya, on the other hand, last month, the food safety department had taken samples of fish and sent those to laboratory for testing.
“However, there is no ban in the city yet. We are still awaiting results from the laboratories. If the departments are found using the same, we will penalize the sellers and seize the products. Banning fish from those particular states would be a premature step,” G Saikia, an official of the district food and civil supplies department said.
Assam mostly procures fish from Andhra Pradesh while some procurement is made from Tripura, West Bengal, Kerela and Tamil Nadu. Assam, which already has a bountiful fisheries department, gets about 40 per cent, i.e., about 44.8 tons of fish from the department while more than 44 tons are procured from outside; about 20 per cent comes from unorganized fish sellers. These are daily figures.
City fish-sellers irked by rumours of ban of fish from outside state
After the recent ban of fish from outside the state in Nagaland following a massive seizure of formalin-laced fish in the state capital of Kohima, fish sellers in Guwahati are rattled about the possibility of the same here.
The discontentment grew louder over the last few days after they learnt about the various drives conducted by the public health department and the Assam food safety department against the same.
“It is not our fault that these fish are making its foray into the city market. We do not add the chemicals to the fish. Rather, the chemical-laced fish come here. There is no way that we can detect which is fresh and which is contaminated,” Abdul Razzak, a fish seller in Ulubari market said.
Razzak, like other fish sellers, also felt something is wrong with the fish that comes from Andhra Pradesh.
“We took all the precautions to preserve the fishes like we always do – by putting on salt added ice. But there was one lot of Rohu that came from Andhra Pradesh that did not get sold and remained intact for about a whole week. I had to throw away that lot, but that’s when I figured that something is strange with the fish,” Razzak added.
Another seller, Abdul Ali said, “I think the government should equip the wholesalers with the detection machines so that while loading, they can know which has chemical and which does not. Otherwise, by the time the fish reach us, it is too late already. Seizing from markets won’t solve the problem,” Ali said.
What is formalin?
Formalin is derived from formaldehyde, which is a substance that is carcinogenic to humans. Mixed in the right proportion with water, the paste is used for embalming and preventing the decay of dead cells. Formalin, which contains 37–40% formaldehyde, is used in mortuaries and labs.
Formalin is often used to preserve fish, which is an easily perishable commodity whose value depends on its freshness. And when fish is imported from another state, to prevent rot during transport, fish traders resort to using formalin, even though formalin consumption is harmful to human beings.
What are its effects?
There are several risks associated with ingesting formalin – having even 30 ml of a solution, which contains as little as 37% formalin, can kill a fully grown adult. Once ingested, formalin releases toxins into the body and the sustained ingestion of formalin can eventually lead to cancer.
Breathing even the smallest amount of formaldehyde gas can lead to pneumonia and bronchitis.
If formaldehyde is present in the air at a level more than 0.001 ppm, people could experience a burning sensation in their eyes, nose and throat, apart from coughing and sneezing. They could also experience nausea and skin irritation.
If formalin reaches the stomach, a person could experience stomach ache and nausea. Even if the fish or vegetables treated with formalin are cooked, it doesn’t stop the formalin from releasing the toxins into the body.
How can formalin-laced fish be detected?
Detection of fish contaminated by formalin includes checking if the fish has rubbery flesh, red gills or hard scales. Of course, none of these methods are foolproof and the only way to know for certain if a fish is contaminated is to send it to a lab for testing.
