Director: Show proof of formalin tainted fish
Published on: Friday, October 09, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Health Director Dr Christina Rundi on Thursday called for proof of formalin tainted fish being sold in the market following such viral messages and reports spread online. She said the department has not found concrete evidence on excessive use of formalin to preserve fish after acting on these reports, adding that almost all fish in the market have formalin, but at permissible level at present. "Formalin tainted fish reports are not new… But where is the proof? Report directly to us when you come cross any of them immediately.
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"Just go to the nearest public health facility or call our Food Safety and Quality Division at 088-248 214," she told reporters here. She said it is impossible to find fish with zero formalin in the market at present, saying the department wants to investigate and confirm such claims. "But unless we (the department) investigate ourselves, it is difficult to know for certain whether the formalin is at risky levels or not," said Dr Rundi. She said this in response of a message which went viral via the social media that formalin tainted fish had been found in the Putatan market.
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She also noted various media reports and social media reports of such instances in the interior divisions like Keningau, Pitas and Kota Marudu in the past.
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Towards this end, Dr Rundi questioned such reports, saying that such claims are often baseless and went without providing concrete methods of determining whether the fish had dangerous levels of formalin. "It is based on assumptions… still when we have been informed of such message, the personnel from the Food Safety and Quality division will be deployed to check.According to her, the department cannot sit on such claims as it involves the public which can cause chaos, anger and sometimes result in individuals taking legal action. "What we want is people to immediately report to us, don't wait and report two three days later and it would be hard for us to find evidence. "They can report to us immediately or keep the samples for us to do the testing," she said. Dr Rundi said the department has its own gadgets to determine the level of formalin. On another note, she said the Health Department has made it a must for all its health facilities to report dog bites across Sabah to monitor the outbreak of canine rabies. She said such reports will also be shared with the Veterinary Services and Animal Industry Department to carry out animal disease control. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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