Mangaluru harbour ice units told to use lab-tested water for preserving fish
Food safety officials collected ice and water samples at the fishing jetty and warned against using formalin or any chemical to keep fish fresh.
Food safety officials in Dakshina Kannada have inspected ice manufacturing units at the Mangaluru Harbour fishing jetty to check the quality of ice used to preserve fresh fish, following directions from the Health Minister.
The officials found that the units were buying fresh water through tankers to make ice. Operators were told to produce ice only after getting laboratory reports confirming the water's quality, and samples were collected for testing.
An ice unit run by the Mangaluru Trawl Boat Fishermen's Primary Cooperative Society, which uses modern machinery, was also inspected and its water sent for testing.
The district Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has directed all units to use good-quality water, stressed that only clean, hygienically made ice should be used for fish, and issued strict warnings against the use of formalin or any other chemical.
Source: Deccan Herald. Photo: Lusi Lindwurm / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
