Bhubaneswar: Officials of food safety, public health and fisheries departments continued raids on fish shops after formalin was found from a sample in Bhubaneswar on July 14.

The team on Friday conducted raids on the fish markets in Puri and Rayagada.

The team collected samples from various fish outlets and street vendors at Swargadwar, Satasankha and Market Chhak in Puri. "The fish samples have been sent for laboratory test in Bhubaneswar. We also sensitised traders on the ill effects of consumption of the chemical," said additional district fishery officer (marine) Debendra Behera.

Similarly, fish samples - supplied from Parvatipuram, Vishakhapatnam in Andhra and Balugaon in Khurda district - were collected from vendors and outlets operating at Overbridge Bazar and other daily markets in Rayagada district.

On Thursday, the inspecting team in Sambalpur district found presence of formalin in two samples of khurusia rohi and kala bainsi fishes during raids on a fish market at Kulutakanhi.

On Friday, a 12-member team of the fisheries and animal resources development department collected fish samples from Unit-IV fish market in Bhubaneswar, after the state government ordered for test as the Assam government had banned import of fishes due to formalin presence. The samples included prawn, rohu, mirkali, crabs and pomfret. The sample of pomfret was found positive for formalin.

The presence of the chemical has affected fish selling across the state with consumers staying away from fish dishes. According to official statistics, the state annually produces around 6.8 lakh metric tonnes of fishes, including 4.6 lakh metric tonnes of freshwater fishes. It also imports around 20,000 metric tonnes of fishes from Andhra every year.