Although last year the government declared the Sylhet city largest wholesale fruit market in Kadamtoli as formalin-free, most traders and retailers in the market continue to store and sell fruits administered with formalin and other toxic chemicals.
‘As there is no monitoring by the association on the influx of adulterated fruits into the market, many traders are now freely selling chemical-administered fruits to the retailers,’ a retailer of the Kadamtoli market told that, requesting anonymity.
After the government’s declaration, the SMP and the Kadamtoli Wholesale Fruit Market Association agreed to check all fruits entering the market for high formalin levels and other toxic contaminations.
Sources said the market association allegedly stopped checking the fruits entering the market and thus cleared the way for unscrupulous traders and farmers to store and sell formalin-administered fruits in the capital.
‘Due to the recent police drives against adulterated fruits, many traders are now applying chemicals after the fruits reach their warehouses,’ he added.
Apart from that, this correspondent also found that many traders in the market were not concerned with the use of formalin in fruits or public health, and were furious over this issue which reportedly caused them huge losses in the last one year.
‘We have lost crores of taka in last one year after the government and SMP declared the market as formalin-free. Different mobile courts raided the market at different times and destroyed huge caches of fruits saying that they were adulterated,’ a trader of the Kadamtoli market told that seeking anonymity.
‘Go tell the SMP to stop such activities against us in the name of formalin,’ he added.
Leaders of Kadamtoli Wholesale Fruit Market Association denied the allegation and claimed that they had been regularly testing both local and imported fruits for contaminations.
Saying that the association had a formalin-testing machine, the leaders also claimed that fruits are always checked for contaminations before being unloaded from trucks.
Meanwhile, a section of traders also complained that farmers themselves spray formalin on their harvests before sending them to others parts of the country, including the capital.
They also claimed that it was not possible for wholesalers to check each and every consignment of fruits for chemicals.
The market association Secretary told that ‘We are trying really hard to establish a formalin-free market and we have made some progress.’
In the face of widespread use of toxic disinfectant formalin on fruits, SMP launched a drive on Wednesday night and seized huge amount of formalin-mixed seasonal fruits at the Markets.
