Large quantities of unwholesome tilapia were yesterday destroyed at the Kpone dumping site in Tema.The 1,300 cartons of frozen tilapia, each weighing 10 kilogrammes, were impounded at the Trust Link Cold Store by a team led by the National Coordinator of the Fisheries Enforcement Unit (FEU), Capt. Emmanuel Kwafo.
They later supervised the destruction of the fish at the Kpone dumping site after obtaining a court order from the Tema High Court.
Importation
The consignment, said to have been imported into the country by Mr Zhang Ming, a Chinese, allegedly bore no dates of manufacture and expiration or country of origin. Mr Ming, who was arrested, has since been granted police enquiry bail.
Samples
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Head of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Fisheries Commission, Mr Godfrey Baidoo-Tsibu, said prior to the destruction of the fish, a test conducted by the FDA on samples of the tilapia found them to be unwholesome.
According to him, per section 132 (2) of the Public Health Act, Act 851 of 2012, the authorities had to dispose of the consignment.
Destruction
Mr Baidoo-Tsibu said after having gone through the necessary legal requirements, the unwholesome fish were carted to the Kpone dumping site and under the supervision of the Chief Supervisor at the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, Mr Percy Azanlerigu, the fish were destroyed.
He explained that the exercise by the team formed part of efforts to fight illegal importation and sale of tilapia in the country.