The district Fisheries Department didn't find any trace of formalin, a harmful preservative substance, in the samples that were checked during randomly selected places of the fish trading and export- import hubs in and around the town.
District Fisheries Officer Surendra Kumar Ghadai said as many as 16 samples were collected so far within last four days and they were tested on the spot with the help of mobile kit and in none of the samples there was trace of formalin.
He said the checks were carried out to determine whether formalin was being used in the imported as well as exported species.
Among the 16 samples while 10 were of freshwater, the rest were marine species.
"The checks were carried out in major fishing hub Balaramgadi as well as in the local prominent markets in the town and the trucks on the National Highway within our jurisdiction from Bhadrak border to laxmannath road. In no samples were traces of formalin found," said Ghadai. The raids and checks while are conducted by one team due to availability of one kit, this would be stepped up and extended to all blocks with the availability of adequate number of kits. The sample check would be made by teams comprising food safety officer and police personnel across the district, he informed. Baleswar being a coastal district, fish consumption is comparatively high here. According to official data, the district while consumes nearly 32,000 MT freshwater fish annually, imported fish mainly from Andhra Pradesh is roughly 2,000MT.
The consumption goes up during fishing ban season, spanning over two months, from mid April to mid June.
likewise, the district produces about 35,000 MT marine fish per annum and exports nearly 30,000MT to different destinations. Further, it produces close to 15,000MT shrimps annually which are almost exported to outside stations, including overseas.