The problem of fish laced with chemicals ought to get the authorities worried before it becomes a public health issue
Tests by food inspectors have found large amounts of ammonia and formalin in fish that is being sold in several markets across Delhi. This comes a few weeks after Bihar banned the sale of fish across the State due to formalin and the issue of the chemical became a massive issue in Goa. Ammonia is used by fish transporters in the ice to slow down melting and formalin is used to keep the catch looking fresh. But both chemicals are carcinogens and otherwise harmful to human health. With a few proper refrigerated trucks as well as the lack of a proper cold chain in India, fish are often transported on ice in trucks, which can take a few days to travel from the shore to inland cities. Transporters and fish wholesalers must have figured out that ammonia and formalin are good for margins without realising the dangers of the chemicals they use.
Unfortunately, it is not just the fish and seafood industry that suffers from the problem of added chemicals in food. The use of steroids and antibiotics in the poultry and dairy industries is a major problem that we have not addressed. And fresh food, unlike packaged food, does not come with warning labels about chemicals. Many of these harmful substances cannot be washed off, particularly in meat and fish, because they have been absorbed into the muscle. These, when built up in humans, cannot just cause cancers but also impotence, heart disease and other problems. With fish being considered the best source of protein and oils, Indians ought to be eating more of it but this scandal could prove devastating to the fishing industry just like the avian flu epidemic that destroyed the demand for poultry. Most consumers buy fresh food based on trust and if it collapses, that is the end of it. If people are to regain faith in eating fish, more food safety officers should be deployed. And while our bureaucrats have acted tough on companies like Nestle, they should also inspect and examine fresh food items such as meat and fish more regularly. Even though the fishing communities are large vote-banks for politicians in coastal States, there needs to be some political will behind this as well because if demand for fish collapses in the aftermath of this scandal, thousands of fishermen will be jobless. And that is not a risk any politician should take.