Rumors of formalin-preserved fish destroy Lampung dried fish business

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.