Formalin In Fish: Samples Collected From Cuttack, Berhampur Markets

Cuttack/Berhampur: As a part of the ongoing state-wide raid conducted by Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department to detect the presence of cancer-causing formalin in fish, raids on Wednesday were conducted on markets, shops and godowns in Cuttack and Berhampur.

“Samples of different varieties of fish have been collected from shops at Press Chhak and sealed in packets. The samples will be sent to the food testing laboratory for examination. However, all the eight samples collected from several markets and godowns in Cuttack on Tuesday were tested negative,” an official from Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) informed.

Similarly, a team of Berhampur Municipal Corporation officials conducted fish samples from markets at Berhampur in Ganjam district.

A joint team of fisheries and animal resources development department and Sambalpur Municipal Corporation had on Tuesday raided several markets and godowns at Ainthapali and Kamli Bazaar in Sambalpur district.

Similar raids were also carried out at different fish markets at Rugudipada area in Balangir district by the department and municipal corporation officials.

Notably, fisheries and animal resources development secretary Vishal Gagan on July 13 had confirmed presence of formalin in Pamphlet fish samples collected from the Unit-4 fish market in Bhubaneswar.

In a letter to the district public health officers and municipal corporations, commissioner of food safety Archana Patnaik has asked them to collect samples of fish and send them to the National Food Testing Laboratory.

Citing reports in the print and electronic media, she directed the aforesaid officials to ask the food safety officers concerned to collect random samples.