500kg rotten, formalin-laced fish seized from Ukkadam market

Coimbatore: A raid conducted by the food safety department officials revealed that the traders at the fish market in Ukkadam were selling stale fish and those laced with chemicals all these days.
The officials seized 500 kilograms of fish unfit for consumption from the shops at popular market during the raid.
Designated food safety officer K Tamil Selvan had constituted four teams after receiving complaints from public about the sale of stale fish. The teams raided several fish shops across the district.
The team led by food safety officer Vijayaraja, which aided the wholesale and retail fish market at Ukkadam, found that the traders were selling fish laced with formalin.
As many as 60 shops in the market have been conducting business for several years. While the price of fish sold at the market was lower than that of the retail shops elsewhere in the city, the quality was often below par.
While the team seized 70 kilograms of formalin-laced fish, they also found 430 kilograms of stale fish sold in some of the shops at the market. The seized fish were destroyed in the presence of the traders.
The officials also gave a stern warning to the traders not to sell rotten fish or use chemicals to prolong the shelf life.
Formalin is a solution of formaldehyde, a toxic chemical linked to cancer.