Food Safety Department to examine fish brought from other States

According to the Food Safety Department, fish samples collected from the Central fish market in the city contained sodium benzoate. 

Concern over wide use of sodium benzoate to preserve stock

After Operation Sagar Rani that mainly targeted the local fish vendors who sprinkled harmful chemical preservatives on fish, the enforcement wing of the Food Safety Department is all set to routinely examine the fish stock that arrives in Kerala from other States.

The are reports that sodium benzoate is widely used in fish coming from Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The drive will zero in on non-Kerala suppliers as the samples collected from local fishermen contained only minimal preservatives.

Food Safety Department officials say intensive vehicle checking with the support of the police and other related departments will be planned to check the stock and collect samples on the spot.

“We had collected fish items and ice samples from 47 locations in the district, but only samples collected from the Central fish market in the city contained sodium benzoate. The main issue in Kozhikode is that vendors do not use required quantity of ice for preserving fish,” said O. Sankaranunni, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety Department. The improper use of ice by local vendors was mainly noticed along the wayside.

Awareness programmes

The department will go ahead with field-level awareness programmes for fishers on the impact of cancerous preservatives on human body. One such awareness programme will take place in the city on February 13. A separate session for the fish vendors in Central market, where the misuse of sodium benzoate was confirmed, will be organised on February 15.

Merchants’ stand

Local fish vendors say they never opt for unlawful preservation of their stock. “No fisherman will do it deliberately because they will lose their regular clients and it will affect their business,” says Faijaz, a local fish merchant at Nadakkavu. He also adds that fishers are very receptive towards the ongoing quality-checking mechanism to address safety concerns.

Food safety officials also clarify that there has been no confirmed incidents in the district in which fishers used formalin, a toxic and carcinogenic chemical commonly used to preserve dead bodies, to keep fish items. The main issue in the district is the poor quantity of ice used to preserve the stock that naturally leads to bacterial infection and further health complications, they add.