Smoked
fish are not only delicious but also wholesome and nutritious for human
consumption but it can be harmful if certain things are used in the smoking,
officials of National Environment Agency (NEA) has said.
Omar Bah, NEA’s registrar of hazardous chemical and pesticides, said there is nothing in smoked fish that poses health hazard to human being.
Speaking to The Point newspaper during an interview at the NEA headquarters on Jimpex Road, Kanifing, Mr Bah, however, said the traditional fish smoking using cartons could be harmful if the carton contain glues, soaps and other unknown substances.
Also, he said burning of plastic-based materials for fish smoking makes such fish risky for human consumption.Plastic-based materials like nylon or plastic bags emit dangerous substances when burnt and these substances are transferred to the smoked fish making them unfit for human consumption.
“Using some of these substances in fish smoking can cause health consequences to those who consume smoked fish because the toxic in these substances when they are burnt could cause cancer and health issues,” Mr Bah said.
Fish
smoking is widely practised in The Gambia, as it is in many parts of the world,
and it is used in making many of the local delicacies.