JAGATSINGHPUR: Traces of cancer-causing formalin were found in a fish sample in Paradip. With allegations of chemical being used for manufacturing dry fishes, the Fisheries department has decided to collect dry fish samples along with samples of fresh fish to know the extent of formalin usage.
Paradip is one of the State’s major dry fish production centres after Huma-Sunakhala in Ganjam district. The demand is high in Rourkela, Angul, Sambalpur, Bargarh and some parts of Western Odisha besides, West Bengal, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Assam.
More than 1,500 families of Telugu and Bengali communities have been running dry fish business in Paradip for several generations and around 500 families are indirectly employed in the trade. Around 5,000 tonnes of dry fish are produced in the area every year. As far as the process is concerned, the fishermen sprinkle salt on the fresh fish and let it soak for a day. They then wash the fish with water and string them up along the beach to dry.
Sources said fishermen and dry fish traders process the fish by dipping them in buckets of water that have toxic drugs dissolved in it.
Earlier, Fisheries Department (Marine) had served notices to dry fish manufacturing units to refrain from using chemicals and preservatives in preparing dry fishes and any violation would be an offence under Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982.
However, traders have been using toxic substances including Formaldehyde (methanal) for the purpose. In fact, dry fish available in Jagatsinghpur market is laced with Formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals in violation of the Orissa Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982. These chemicals can cause killer diseases like gastric ulcer and gastritis.
Assistant Director of Fisheries Department, Manas Ranjan Sahoo, said a team of officials from the department had recently collected eight fish samples and one of them had formalin traces in it.
"We have formed a team to raid different fish selling and dry fish manufacturing units to check illegal use of formalin and other chemicals," he added.