Traces of formalin found in fish sold in Tirunelveli, Tenkasi

Awareness among consumers is of paramount importance, say Food Safety officials

In what is certainly not good news for seafood lovers, officials of the Departments of Food Safety and Fisheries have seized fish preserved with formalin, a poisonous cancer-inducing chemical used as disinfectant or to preserve biological specimens in laboratories. When the officials led by G.A. Bushra Shabnam, Assistant Director, Department of Fisheries, Tirunelveli, recently conducted surprise checks in six shops — three each in Palayamkottai and Melapalayam — they detected fish preserved with formalin. They seized around 25 kg and destroyed them immediately.