GUWAHATI: The detection of formalin in a sample of fish collected from a market here has prompted the Assam government to impose a ban on the sale and entry of the challani (imported from outside the state) variety of fishes in the state for ten days from Wednesday.
Addressing reporters here on Tuesday, Assam minister of state for health, Pijush Hazarika said the sale and import of fish from outside the state would be banned after formalin was detected in one of the samples collected on June 29.
Formalin is a toxic and carcinogenic chemical and therefore harmful to health It is commonly used to preserve human bodies in mortuaries.
“We have banned the sale of challani fish across Assam for ten days from tomorrow. After 10 days we will restart our surprise raids on fish markets and stern action will be taken if any trader is thereafter found selling fish laced with formalin,” Hazarika said.
Asked on the nature of action against errant traders, he said it would be as per the provisions of the Food Safety Act, which may be imprisonment up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.
On whether any notification in regard to the ban has been intimated to the fish traders, he said they have been unofficially communicated and that an official notification would be sent.
“We have urged them not to fall prey to unscrupulous traders once the ten-day ban period is over,” Hazarika said.
On the ban being restricted to imported fish, he said Assam is a fish consuming state and therefore the sale of only the variety where the harmful chemical was found has been banned for now.
“We know that prices of the locally bred fish would shoot up in due course. The matter would be taken up with the food and civil supplies department,” the minister said.
A food safety department official told this correspondent that six samples of fish collected from markets here on June 29 were tested at the State Public Health Laboratory at Bamunimaidam and formalin was detected in one of them on Saturday.
States like Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh too have started taking precautionary measures against the sale of formalin-laced fish in the markets.