Even as reports of presence of cancer-causing formalin found in fishes in Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur triggered panic among consumers in the State, Health Minister Pratap Jena on Monday urged people not to panic saying that the Government did not find any trace of the toxin in the samples that had been sent for testing.
Speaking to mediapersons Jena said, “After the Fisheries Department detected formalin in fishes, the Health Department had collected 137 fish samples from over 20 districts. Eighty-nine samples have been tested so far in the State laboratory; and no traces of formalin were found.”
However, the testing of the rest of the samples is underway; and if any such chemical is found in them, appropriate measures will be taken by the Government, said the Minister.
Earlier on Thursday last, a joint team of the Fisheries Department and the Sambalpur Municipal Corporation had conducted raids at Kulutakanhi in Sambalpur town and found traces of formalin in two different species of fish.