Dry fish treated with poisonous pesticide

Hazardous pesticides are in rampant use in preserving sea fish in dried form, especially in the country’s main hub in Cox’s Bazar, posing serious health risks to dry-fish lovers.
District health and fisheries officials said wholesalers were supplying chemical-coated dried fish to consumers and its byproducts for poultry feeds throughout the country, in violation of the food safety
rules.
They said Celcron 50 ec, a pesticide, has been used widely, to treat dried sea fish.
Each 500 ml Celcron 50 ec bottle contains 500 gm active profenofos which is highly toxic and may cause diseases, including cancer.
Nazirtek of Sadar upazila, Kutubjom and Sonadia at Maheshkhali upazila, Teknaf, Shamlapur, Sundaripara in Pekua upazila, St Martin’s Island and Baro Ghop in Kutubdia upazila are the main locations for dried fish
yards.
The process of drying fish starts in October and continues till March of next year if the weather remains favourable.
Abdul Mazid, a worker at a dry-fish yard at Nazirtek in Cox’s Bazar airport said they used the chemical to kill insects inside the stomach of dead fish.
Around two thousand tonnes of dried fish is produced from Nazirtek every month of the processing season.
Nazirtek Shutki Traders Multipurpose Cooperative Society president Shahadat Ullah admitted that some of the dried fish producers use pesticides during high humidity.
District civil surgeon Kamar Uddin told New Age that pesticide-coated dried fish poses high risk of cancer.
Many dry-fish sellers and producers were fined a minimum Tk 5,000 and maximum Tk 50,000 by mobile courts in the past for violating rules.
But the drives could not put an end to the practice.
District fisheries officer Amitosh Sen said they were providing training to the producers on alternative fish drying processes with turmeric, pepper powder and salt.

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