Ice-makers plan lockdown as 4 more plants asked to shut

The ice manufacturers’ association, representing 460 ice plants across the State, has announceda lockdown from May 2.

Trace of formalin, ammonium found in ice samples

Even as the Kerala State Ice Manufacturers Association has called for an indefinite lockdown of ice plants from May 2 to protest the forced closure of several units by the Food Safety authorities, the Ernakulam district food safety officer on Tuesday ordered closure of four more.
Three ice plants at Pallippuram and one at Njarackal, which supplied ice blocks mainly to fishing boats, were ordered to be closed by the food safety officer, K. Ajith Kumar, on Tuesday. So far, ten ice plants catering to the fishing industry have been ordered shut.
Mr. Ajith Kumar told The Hindu that samples collected from these plants had traces of formalin and ammonium. The plants were shut down by invoking the emergency prohibition powers under the Food Safety and Standards Act, he said. Samples from 24 ice plants had been collected and so far lab test results of ten were received. All of them tested positive for formalin and ammonium, indicating that use of these harmful chemicals was a pretty common practice. This was a serious threat to public health.
The ice manufacturers’ association, representing the interests of 460 ice plants across the State, has announced a lockdown from May 2 to protest what they call the ‘illegal and dictatorial’ closure of their plants. General Secretary of the association K Uthaman told The Hindu that nearly 20 ice plants in the State had been force-closed. Of these, ten were in Ernakulam district which was home to the largest number of ice plants in the State —roughly 100, of which 72 were in the Munambam-Vypeen area, the fishing hub of the central Kerala.
Mr. Uthaman denied that formalin (which is normally used for preserving dead bodies) was being used by ice makers. He asked why the Food Safety officers had not shown the ice-makers the test results of the samples collected from their plants. He also claimed that the ice made by the association members was not a ‘food item’ but an industrial product used as a preservative by the fishing industry. “We are selling our ice to the sea-going fishing boats and not to the fruit juice shops or bars,” Mr. Uthaman said. “If anybody is using our ice for a purpose other than as a preservative, it is not our fault.”
Mr. Ajith Kumar, rubbishing the association claim, said the harmful chemicals used in the ice to increase the shelf life of fish naturally got into the fish flesh and passed on to humans who ate the fish. Use of formalin and ammonium in ice was illegal, he said.
Food Safety Commissioner will review the closure decision after receiving the re-test results of the samples from the National Accreditation Body of Laboratories-certified labs.
Charles George, a fishing union leader, said it was common knowledge in the fishing sector that ice makers used formalin and ammonium, but the fish workers were helpless about it. Since Malayalis were ‘addicted to fish,’ and the chemicals used were highly harmful, he said, the fishing unions fully supported the measures taken by the authorities. He called for harsh steps to check chemical contamination of fish. Mr. George warned that if the intentional use of formalin and ammonium continued, fish exports from Kerala to Europe would come to nought. He said that last year Kerala exported seafood worth Rs. 2,900 crore.