DETEKSI FORMALIN DAN LOGAM BERAT PADA IKAN SEGAR DI PASAR TRADISIONAL KOTA KUPANG

Abstract

Nowadays, the use of formalin as a preservative in fish is often found in society. Besides, the consumption of fresh fish products containing heavy metals will potentially cause various diseases both short and long-term. The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge of society about formalin, detect the presence of formalin, and analyze the heavy metal content of Pb, Cd, and Hg in Yellow striped fish, Tuna and Mackerel fish. The qualitative detection was done using Schiff reagents, while the quantitative detection was done by using the Spectrophotometry based on the reaction of formaldehyde and Nash reagents. The results showed that 50 percent of society did not know about the use of formaldehyde and its characteristics in fish. The Qualitative testing on 9 samples found that 2 samples contained positive formalin, while 7 samples were negative. The quantitative test showed that the highest formalin content was found in Tuna and Mackerel fish with concentration of 3.36 ppm, and 1.26 ppm, respectively. Also, mercury was found as the highest concentration in fish roughly 1 to 1.60 ppm for those samples from three different markets. 
 Keywords: formalin, heavy metal, fresh fish, market, Kupang city