Arab Environment Watch : Kuwaiti Ministry of Health: The Fish is Safe!

Source: Arab Times

KUWAIT (Agencies): The Ministry of Health on Wednesday assured the citizens and residents that fish on the local market is safe and contains no contaminating substances that may threaten human life. The affirmation was made by senior ministry officials during an emergency session, called by the municipal council, to react to remarks made by the council member, Majed Al-Mtairi, who said fish contaminated with cancerous substances was available on the local market.

The officials, during the meeting, affirmed that the local hospitals received no human cases of contamination, resulting from the fish.
Dr Seham Al-Mufti, in charge of the ward of laboratorities of the ministry, said a small amount of fish, imported from Iran and pakistan, was infected with a virus that causes cholera.
Authorities have banned imports of fish from these two countries.
The Municipal Council promised on Wednesday, at the end of an emergency meeting called for to discuss the issue of reported contaminated fish being available on the local market, to issue a statement clarifying this matter.
The council was seeking to calm public fear from the consumption of fish after the circulation of several rumors associating health risk and possibly cancer with the consumption of some fish imported from some Asian markets.
The council also instructed its environmental committee to look into the matter and devise a mechanism to examine food in general and fish in particular for any harmful content in light of public complaint against some fish sold on the local market.
The council called for updating the laws dealing with public safety and to run regular checks on such food in compliance with international laws and standards on public safety and dealing with such matters.
Iran on Wednesday denied exporting contaminated fish to Kuwait, inisting its fish are healthy, the ISNA news agency reported.
“The fish in Iran have no problem and we are recommending our people to consume fish, so how could we be exporting contaminated ones?” said the Iranian deputy health minister Moayed Alavian.
On Tuesday, Kuwait’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Falah Al-Hajeri ordered an idefinite ban on all fish imports from Iran and Pakistan on health grounds, suspecting some fish could contain bacteria that cause cholera.
“Allowing carcinogenic fish to enter the country amounts to betrayal of the nation and violators should be brought to justice,” said MP Dr Daifullah Abu Ramia. Holding the Minister of Municipal Affairs accountable for the entry of carcinogenic and cholera affected fish in the local market, he said “80 percent of these fish contain cancer causing germs and their entry into the country is a crime against the nation and humanity.”
Speaking to Al-Watan, Abu Raima said municipal officials involved in this case should be referred to the State Security and charged with national betrayal as they caused many deaths in Kuwait. “Corruption in Kuwait Municipality is spreading like wild fire and is a threat to the safety of citizens and residents,” he alleged.
When fish was tested, NAG germs were found in Hawalli, Al-Ahmadi, Mubarak Al-Kabeer and other major governorates in the country. The Ministry of Commerce then issued a warning against consumption of Pakistani and Iranian Fish.
The Committee also continued the ban on importing chicken and other birds from countries identified as ‘bird flu affected areas’ by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Meanwhile, Public Authority of Agriculture and Fish Resources (PAAFR) assured that local Kuwaiti fish is absolutely healthy. PAAFR had distanced itself from the ongoing issue saying it is not responsible for quality of imported fish.
Reminding that PAAAFR is responsible for only national fish resources, it asked Kuwaiti Municipality to coordinate with the Ministry of Health and other scientific centers to get necessary laboratory checkups of polluted fish.
Meanwhile, the prices of local Kuwaiti fish increased as reports of cancer and cholera causing germs in the imported fish spread. Some customers were aware of the government’s warning and stayed away from imported fish while others ignored the warning.