Some fishermen in Sekondi-Takoradi have condemned the alleged use of Formalin by their colleagues to preserve fish at Axim in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region.

Formalin is a chemical used in embalming corpses at the mortuary.

According to experts, consumption of Formalin could cause damage to the cornea in the eyes.

Interacting with stakeholders in the fisheries sector at Shama on the new insurance policy for fishermen as part of his visit to the region recently, Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, Deputy Minister of Agriculture in charge of Fisheries, stated that fishermen at Axim used formalin in fish preservation.

He indicated that fishmongers at Axim used the preservative to store tuna and other large fishes for a long period.

When CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE visited the Bosumtwi-Sam Fishing Habour in Sekondi yesterday, scores of fishermen were seen in groups discussing the issue.

They wondered why some of their colleagues should use such a poisonous chemical to preserve fish.

Even though the executives of the various fishing groups were tight-lipped on the matter, some fishermen and fishmongers, who spoke to this paper in separate interviews, expressed surprise at the news and condemned their colleagues, who were allegedly using the poisonous chemical to preserve fish.

“If indeed the allegation by the Deputy Agric Minister is true, then it is very serious because the chemical in question as far as we know is harmful for human consumption,” one of them remarked. CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE gathered that officials from the Foods & Drugs Authority (FDA) have been sent to Axim to investigate the issue and sensitize them on the dangers of the use of the chemical.

The officials, the paper learnt, have been mandated to carry out tests on fish and seize any fish stock that contains the preservative.

“FDA officers are on their way to Axim to verify, and if it is so, we are going to give them education to make sure that they desist from the use of Formalin in preserving fish since it is wrong to use a poisonous material to preserve food for either human or animal consumption,” a source stated.