The Food Safety department has seized around 300 kg of stale fish from the Neendakara harbour in an inspection conducted on Saturday morning. The inspection carried out as part of Operation Matsya found huge quantities of Ayala (mackerel) and Kozhiyala (Indian scad) unfit for consumption and the stock was destroyed later.
The department had intensified surveillance measures following an increasing number of complaints and the inspection was conducted as per the special instructions of Food Safety Commissioner. In the inspection that started at 4.30 a.m., fishing boats and auction halls were checked. Officials said the stale fish, found in the storage facility of a boat that had just returned from sea, was not stored using the required quantity of ice.
Samples collected
The team checked the storage of all boats that reached the harbour after fishing. The officials collected the samples of fish and ice for testing to find the presence of any chemicals. “They will be sent to the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) for further investigation,” said an official. The inspection was led by Food Safety Assistant Commissioner S. Aji while Food Safety officials Chitra Murali, S.S. Anchu, Hari Krishnan and Jagdeesh Chandran were part of the squad.