Over 200 kg of stale fish was seized by officials of Food Safety, Health and Fisheries departments and the Kasaragod Municipality during a raid at the Kasaragod fish market on Saturday.
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According to Food Safety officials, the consignment was brought from Tamil Nadu. Eight of the 50 boxes were found having stale fish. Officials said action would be taken against culprits.
Meanwhile, traders claimed that the seized fish was not stale. Members of All Kerala Fish Merchants and Commission Agents Association alleged that officials had seized the stock after threatening to register a case against traders.
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Association secretary K.A. Moidu said legal action would be taken against officials who had caused huge loss to traders.
Abdul Rashid, a fish trader, lodged a complaint with the District Consumer Dispute Resolution Forum alleging that the officials had seized the stock without providing any written documents on the quantity of fish seized. Claiming a loss of ₹40,000, he sought a compensation of ₹5.40 lakh.
Food Safety Assistant Commissioner P.K John Vijayakumar said eight boxes of stale fish, each weighing 25 kg, were found during the raid. He added that the raid was conducted as per the Food Safety and Standards Act.