Fish being imported from outside will not be banned in Meghalaya. The Meghalaya government instead decided to carry out spot testing of samples collected from fish brought from the outside in markets as well as while unloading from fish-laden trucks.
The decision not to ban the import of fish was taken during a joint meeting chaired by Meghalaya health minister A.L. Hek in the presence of fisheries minister Comingone Ymbon, health officials and food safety officials besides representatives of the Khasi Jaiñtia Fish Wholesaler and Retailer Association on Wednesday.
The Meghalaya fisheries department has procured testing kits “formalin (formaldehyde) detection kit” and spot testing of fishes brought from outside will begin on Thursday in markets as well as fishes being unloaded from trucks.
Hek said that the import of fish would not be banned as 13 out of 26 samples sent for test at the State Public Health Laboratory in Assam, were all negative. Hek said that test reports on another 13 samples are yet to come.
Khasi Jaiñtia Fish Wholesaler and Retailer Association president, Mitchell Wankhar said that fishes brought from outside including from Andhra Pradesh would take a minimum of five days to reach Meghalaya and denied lacing of harmful preservatives like formalin.
“We have been adopting scientific methods for preserving fishes brought from outside the state for many years now,” he claimed.