‘No formalin in galunggong’—BFAR
THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), an agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA), announced on Friday that collected samples of galunggong (round scad) from three public markets in Manila tested negative for formalin.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Fisheries and BFAR National Director Eduardo Gongona told The Manila Times that the 40 samples of galunggong which were collected from Balintawak Market, Cubao Farmer’s Market, and Navotas Fish Port on Wednesday, August 22, contained no formalin and “are safe to eat by the consuming public.”
“As what our lab results showed, our galunggong is safe to eat. We, the BFAR, assures the public that the galunggong being sold in wet markets are safe to eat,” Gongona said.
“However, we remind the public to be vigilant in the fish they purchase in the market. Food safety should always be our priority,” he added.
Gongona said galunggong may be injected with formalin when it is “strangely hard and rubbery with very reddish gills and eyes so white.” He added that when a fish has a distinctive smell same as what hospitals smell like, the fish may have been injected with formalin.
Formalin is a clear, colorless, pungent gas used as an antiseptic, disinfectant. A large amount of formalin may be a severe respiratory tract and skin irritant and may cause dizziness or suffocation.
Earlier this week, a fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas) claimed that some imported seafood products, particularly galunggong imported from China may be tainted with formalin.
But BFAR said that it was collaborating with concerned government agencies to ensure safety on galunggong or the “poor man’s fish.”
“The DA-BFAR will continue to remain vigilant in ensuring that all fish commodities that are sold in the markets, either locally sourced or imported, are safe and free from any harmful substances,” the bureau said.
Malacañang said the government would not allow tainted fish products to enter the country as part of its phytosanitary measures to ensure fish products sold in the Philippine markets were safe.
A total 17,000 metric tons of galunggong is expected to arrive by September 1, as part of the DA’s preparation to stabilize price and supply of the staple ahead of the closed fishing season, which starts on November until March next year. EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ
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