While there is a sudden alarm with regard to fish imported into Goa from Kerala in the monsoons, this 2016 article in Kerala’s premier English language newspaper shows the practice was prevalent from at least then.
Sometimes I buy frozen Indian pomfrets and mackerel available in local ethnic supermarkets which unbeknownst may have been similarly contaminated. Although frozen directly from the catch, you cannot be sure they are not injected with formalin since exporters know the uncertainty of being kept well frozen during the entire time from factory to airport to destination. There are some instructions doing the rounds of how to treat formalin laced fish, meats, fruits and vegetables. They seem unreliable in my opinion. Also, there is no health check on ethnic foods entering Canada. You want to eat strange imported food, you take your chances, seems to be the prevailing thinking. Best to take one’s own precautions in the form of complete avoidance where it is an option. https://english.manoramaonline.com/news/kerala/fishmongers-use-chemical-formalin-to-preserve-fish.html Roland Francis Scarborough.
