A fishy matter

A fishy matter

News:

1. Recently, the traces of the chemical formaldehyde in fish found in several states.

Important facts:

2. Recently, the Kerala government found formaldehyde-laced fish being transported into the State.

3. Formalin, a cancer-inducing chemical used illegally to preserve fish

4. The study conducted in Chennai revealed around 5-20 ppm of the chemical in freshwater and marine fish in two of the city’s markets

5. Goa also reported similar findings. However, its food and drug administration later clarified that the levels in Goa samples were on a par with “naturally occurring” formaldehyde in marine fish.

6. The Food Safety and Standard of India has banned formaldehyde in fresh fish.

7. The International Agency for Research on cancer labeled the chemical a carcinogen in 2004.

8. IARC evidences mainly based on studies on workers in industries such as printing, textiles, and embalming.

9. Problems associated with  formaldehyde in fish:

• At high doses, it causes gastric irritation.
• Formaldehyde binds to the tissue, unlike added formaldehyde, which remains free.
• Workers from industries (like textiles, printing) inhale formaldehyde fumes, and show high rates of nasopharyngeal and other cancers among them.
• However, there is no evidence that formaldehyde causes cancer when ingested orally.
• A 1990 study by U.S. researchers estimated that human consume 11 mg of the chemical through dietary sources every day.

10. The Goa government needs to draw a line between safe and unsafe consumption in a transparent manner.