Concerns are growing over reports that some fish traders are using formalin—a chemical typically employed in preserving dead bodies—on smoked salmon, tuna, and other fish to repel flies and extend shelf life. The practice has sparked serious public health fears and calls for immediate intervention. On her Facebook page, Beatrice Senadju Boateng alleged that this hidden practice is endangering lives, even as the nation grapples with the impact of illegal mining on water bodies and farmlands. She cautioned that unsuspecting consumers may be eating fish treated with formalin, a substance never intended for food preservation.
Boateng warned that such exposure could be contributing to unexplained chronic illnesses, organ damage, and sudden deaths. “This is not preservation. This is poisoning,” she declared, describing the practice as a silent danger threatening families across the country. Formalin is commonly used in laboratories and mortuaries to preserve biological specimens and dead bodies. Health experts have long cautioned that exposure to the chemical can have serious consequences, especially when ingested.
What has further fueled public anger is the claim that regulatory authorities, including the Food and Drugs Authority, are aware of the practice in some markets but have not acted decisively to clamp down on offenders.
Boateng questioned why stronger enforcement measures such as arrests, public prosecutions and closure of offending businesses have not been widely seen.
“If this were happening elsewhere, people would be arrested and named. Businesses would be shut down. But here, we talk and move on,” she said. The allegations have sparked calls for immediate investigations and tougher enforcement to protect consumers. Public health advocates say food safety must be treated as a national priority, stressing that access to safe food is a basic right.
Consumers are being urged to remain vigilant and to report suspicious practices to the relevant authorities while regulators are expected to respond to the growing concerns.
Source: Metrotvonline.com
