Thiruvananthapuram: 150 kg stale fish seized

Health, food safety officials joint raid in Palayam.

Update: 2019-07-09 00:51 GMT
An official picks up a contaminated fish during the joint raid at Connemara fish market at Palayam in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

Thiruvananthapuram: Over 150 kg of stale and contaminated fish was recovered during raids conducted by corporation health squad along with officials of food safety, fisheries and health department at the Palayaam Conne-mara market here on Monday.

The officials said that the seized fish which was not fit for human consumption, was destroyed afterwards.  The joint raids of the departments were carried out following complaints received from public. Fisheries inspectors used strips for instant checking of fish during the raids. Subsequently food safety officials took samples of the fish found unfit for consumption after the instant tests and later destroyed.

Mayor V.K. Prasanth said it was the responsibility and duty of the corporation to ensure safe food for the people of city. Stringent and effective measures will continue from civic body in this regard. Joint squads will continue raids in markets within the corporation limits to seize stale food, fish unfit for consumption. A special drive will also be carried out in wholesale fish markets, Special squads will be constituted to conduct early morning and midnight raids in such places.

Fish traders have been asked to make sure that the fish they procure for further sales in local markets is of good quality.

Meanwhile, the fish vendors and traders alleged that the officials had seized good quality fish from Palayam market. They urged the authorities to raid the places from where middlemen procure fish. The raid was led by Palayam health inspector G. Manoj. junior health inspecors Harish Kumar M., Vinod R., food safety officers V.S. Indu, John Vijayakumar, Pooja Raveendran , fisheries inspector Dilip Kumar and health department technical assistant Abhayan .

The toll-free number of Kerala Commission-erate of Food Safety has been receiving calls pertaining to sale of contaminated fish in various markets in city. Requests were made for checking the presence of formalin and other chemicals in fishes.

From time to time the food safety authorities have been carrying out special drive at check posts for screening fishes coming from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Truck loads of fish are even being sent back following detection of formalin.

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