Rumors of formalin-preserved fish destroy Lampung dried fish business

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post/Bandarlampung

Sumirah, 40, sits wearily while attending to her merchandise. The fish seller at the Gudang Lelang market, West Telukbetung, Bandarlampung, has had a lot of time on her hands in the past few days due to a lack of customers. Dried fish is a very popular food in Lampung and is consumed along with rice.

"The rumor that formalin is used in fresh and dried fish to preserve it has dealt a blow to business," said Sumirah on Thursday. On normal days she could usually sell 30 kilograms to 40 kg of fish a day, but she can only sell about four kilograms at the most now. "I'll probably stop selling fish for a while, until the rumor dies out," she said.

Nearly all fresh and dried fish sellers have complained about sluggish business following rumors that formalin is used to preserve the fish. Many fishermen have even stopped going out to sea due to the sluggish sales.

This is the second blow to fishermen following the fuel shortage not so long ago.

The rumor has adversely affected hundreds of families in Pulau Pasaran island, Bandarlampung, who produce dried fish for their livelihood.

A local resident, Misno, 39, acknowledged that he had stopped producing because his customers had stopped placing orders of dried fish from him for the past week.

According to Misno, many of his neighbors are also forced to remain idle. "Usually, I could dispatch 500 kg of dried fish to my clients each week," he said.

The report of a number of fish sellers in Bandarlampung resorting to the use of formalin as a preservative started last week from a resident who sampled fish that was suspected of containing formalin.

Staff members from the Lampung Food and Drugs Control Agency (BPOM) responded quickly by conducting a covert operation to get samples of fresh and dried fish from two fish auction places and several traditional markets.

Hartadi, head of the Lampung BPOM, said test results would be known in two to four weeks and that his office had promised to announce the results immediately to prevent public anxiety.

The Bandarlampung Fisheries and Maritime Office has also dispatched its staff to monitor the fish preservation process in a number of fish auction places in Lampung.

Formalin is very harmful to health and is carcinogenic in nature. It can cause cancer if consumed routinely. It can also cause irritation to the digestive system. In compliance with the Ministry of Health Regulation No. 722/1988 on food additives, formalin is strongly prohibited.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs will require formalin-free labels on food and non-food grade fishery products to assure customers that the products are free of hazardous chemical substances.

The director general of processing and marketing of fishery products at the ministry, Martani Husaini, said in Jakarta on Monday that the labeling requirement would be implemented on fish processing facilities and their products, as well as places where seafood was sold, such as fish markets, restaurants, eating stalls and supermarkets.

The policy was a follow-up measure after indications that numerous fish products contain formalin. In a number of places in Central Java, such as Kendal and Batang regencies, there have been reports of deaths from consuming fish containing formalin, a chemical substance commonly used to preserve corpses.