THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the arrival of a large quantity of fish from other states following trawling ban, the Kerala Commissionerate of Food Safety has stepped up surveillance at check posts and fish markets across the state.
On Monday, the Commissionerate officially informed the food safety authorities of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa that the fish loads coming to Kerala from these states would be tested at the check-posts and would be allowed entry only if they are safe for consumption.
"We have alerted the authorities concerned to inform the fish merchants there that there will be checking at the borders," said an official. "If the test comes positive we will not allow them entry into the state. In that case, more samples would be collected for further scrutiny and the merchants would be responsible for keeping the fish in proper temperature at their expense until the final results are out."
The official said that more checks would be held at fish markets and check posts in the state in the coming days. "So far we haven't got any positive samples establishing the presence of formalin or any other chemical used for preservation. Mobile food test labs would be used for checking the samples," said the official.
