Ban on fish sale in Patna after reports of excess formalin

The Bihar government on Monday banned sale, transportation and storage of fish for 15 days in Patna Municipal corporation area, after reports confirmed presence of toxic chemical formalin in samples.

The decision was taken following the report of Kolkata's Central Food Laboratory, which confirmed the use of formalin and other heavy minerals like lead, cadmium and mercury beyond the permissible limit in all 10 samples of fish collected from Patna, officials said.

"Keeping public safety and health in mind, the department has decided to ban sale, transportation, storage of all types of fish for 15 days in Patna Municipal corporation area.

"All the 10 samples were found unsafe for human consumption under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006," Bihar Health Department's Principal Secretary-cum-Food Safety Commissioner Sanjay Kumar told reporters here.

Food Safety Officials had collected 10 samples from Patna Municipal Corpration area on October 10, 2018 and sent them to the ...