Around 1,700 kg of fresh formalin-laced fish were seized by Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) officials at Bye Pass check gate in Kohima on Saturday.
The food safety cell of KMC, in a release, said the KMC officials seized the fish while being transported from Dimapur to Kohima by a Tata mobile.
Samples of the seized fish – Rohu, Katla, Pankaj and Prawn – were sent to State Public Health Laboratory for testing where the test report of food analyst confirmed the presence of added formalin in the fish, the release said.
The seized fish was later destroyed at KMC dumping site at Ziiriizou in the presence of district administration, police, KMC and food safety officials.
The Nagaland government had extended the ban on fresh fish treated with formalin or any form of preservative for another year in December last year. The fish vendors were also directed to get fish sample analysed by Food Safety Commissioner-cum-Health & Family Welfare Department Principal Secretary before sale.
Last year, thousands of kgs of formalin and other preservative-laced fish were seized in different parts of the State, prompting the government to impose the ban.