Selling fresh fish at Murmansk food stores is a long-disputed issue involving multiple interests.
According to the sanitary regulations passed in 1996, sale of any fresh fish is prohibited in the Murmansk region. However, the population, eager to consume the valuable protein-rich product, is buying chilled fish offered illegally at the local markets.
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While consumers expose themselves to a risk of poisoning, sanitary authorities reject the idea of lifting the ban. Fishing companies have appealed to the regional governor Yuri Yevdokimov asking to reconsider the current regulations in order to provide the population with much-needed product. So far, no changes have taken place.
Strange enough, but even high-rank officials directly involved in the matter, differ dramatically in their opinions.
Alexander Solodov, chief medical officer of the Murmansk Zonal Center for Transport Sanitary and Epidemiological Monitoring, is assured that the ban on selling fresh fish leads to the public health deterioration, as people suffer from the lack of essential protein. He believes that the main thing lies in increasing public awareness on the possible dangers of fresh-fish consumption and informing people of the necessary cooking methods to be applied.
“Any kind of fresh fish, being a natural chemical-free product, is infected with certain bacteria. But in terms of epidemiological standards, it is practically impossible to find a hundred percent safe food product. At the same time, selling raw chicken or meat is not prohibited by the law. It is obvious that it should be the same with fish: it seems very unlikely that buyers are completely unaware of the heat-treatment needed to be done before eating the fish”, Mr Solodov commented.
An opposite view-point is represented by Pavel Dolzhanov, head of the Murmansk Regional Veterinary Inspectorate. He points at the difficulty of equipping food shops with all necessary facilities to enable fish sale. “In fact, we are not interested in depriving the population of an opportunity to buy fresh fish. But to make it possible, creating a new retail infrastructure is required, dealing with effective supply, transportation, storage and other pre-sale schemes. With all the costs involved, prices for fresh fish will double. Will people still be able to afford such an expensive product?
The only thing we demand is to keep within the law. If we allow selling fresh fish under current conditions, we’ll see the number of serious health disorders caused by fish poisoning sky-rocket. We simply can’t let it happen.”
Meanwhile, as the debate on selling fresh fish goes on, all parties concerned seem to be at a disadvantage.
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