THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The offenders who brought the fish laced with formalin to the state will be prosecuted, Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said. So far 28,000 kg of contaminated fish has been seized with the haul of over 9,600 kg at Aryankavu checkpost, said food safety officials. "We have sent the load back to the food safety commissioner of the origin state (Andhra Pradesh). They will have to destroy it. A food safety official has been entrusted to hand over the load. They will have to report back after destroying it," said Ms Shailaja.
Apart from the transporter, the company that sent the fish and the individuals who were to receive it also will be prosecuted. Prosecution can begin only when the test results are confirmed by food safety labs. The preliminary detection was done using a kit developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), said Food Safety Commissioner M.G. Rajamanickam.
"Dead body cells might naturally have formalin. So, a detailed lab report was needed in each case. Tests confirmed that prawns caught from Walayar had 4.1 milligram formalin," he said. "Once the CIFT kits get commercialised, the people can test the fish on their own and call the police if it is laced with formalin or ammonia," said Ms Shailaja. Contaminated fish was seized at Amarvila, Walayar and Aryankavu checkposts and the trucks coming to Aroor and Thiruvananthapuram were returned. Raids were conducted at Manjeshwaram and Poovar also. In some cases, the papers in lorries do not mention the person designated to get the load.
