Strips to detect presence of formalin, ammonia in fish to hit market soon

There are two separate kits for detecting the presence of formalin and ammonia in fish, each kit includes testing strips with a solution and a colour chart to assess contamination.

S J Laly and Priya E R, the scientists who developed fish contamination testing kits

KOCHI: Mumbai-based HiMedia Laboratories Pvt Ltd will manufacture and market fish contamination testing kits developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT). With presence in more than 140 countries, HiMedia is among the top three brands in microbiology in the world. It manufactures testing kits for water, blood and serum, orchid media and salts. The company had recently won the bid for transfer of technology floated by CIFT. According to sources, the product will hit the market within a month.

“We had published an invitation for ‘expression of interest’ around two months ago. Many companies submitted bids and the highest bidder was selected after a detailed interaction. Since it is a product to check food adulteration, we want to ensure it is delivered at the lowest rate to the consumers. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is also keen to ensure availability of such products so that adulteration can be checked,” principal scientist K Ashok Kumar told Express.

The CIFT will provide a week-long training to the professional from Hi Media on the development of the product. CIFT and FSSAI will ensure that the quality of the product is maintained. The kit was developed by scientists Laly S J and Priya E R at the CIFT. The rapid test kit was developed following a request from the Kerala Government to provide technology for detecting the presence of formalin and ammonia in the fish brought to the markets in Kerala from neighbouring states. “We were keen to develop a non-destructive, simple and consumer-friendly procedure, which will make it easy for the layman to detect adulteration of fish,” he said 

There are two separate kits for detecting the presence of formalin and ammonia in fish. Each kit includes testing strips with a reagent solution and a standard colour chart to assess the extent of contamination. The strip has to be scraped on the surface of fresh fish or fish meat, and then 1-2 drops of the reagent solution should be added. The colour change can be compared with the attached colour chart for easy detection of adulterants in domestically marketed fish.