The Fisheries Department has issued a clarification after media reports regarding a Kedah Department of Environment raid on a recycling factory led to “confusion”.

The raid on the factory in Kuala Muda, which was believed to be operating illegally, was conducted on July 3 and widely reported in the media with headlines such as “Kedah factory caught recycling plastic into fish feed pellets”.

The reports quoted Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as saying: “The inspection found about 100 tonnes (of plastic) had been processed into pellets and packed in plastic bags labelled freshwater fish food”.

The Fisheries Department said such reports have caused concern among fish farmers.

“The factory was found to process recycled material into plastic pellets and packaged it using (repurposed) bags.

“The packaging bags are bags for fish food, which caused confusion among breeders that the plastic pellets (are being purported as) fish food,” it said in a statement yesterday.

It assured that PSJ Feed Sdn Bhd, whose logo is seen on the bags, is a legitimate producer of fish food that has been operating in Penang since 2022, and has shown its commitment towards the safety and quality of its products because it is in the process of obtaining Fish Quality Certification.

It has no connection to the recycling factory.

Nevertheless, the Fisheries Department said it has taken food samples from PSJ Feed’s factory to confirm its composition. The results of the analysis will be ready in 14 working days.

It also assured that all fish food produced by registered factories in accordance with the department’s standards is safe to be used, and it works closely with the Veterinary Department and other agencies to monitor factories that produce animal feed and ensure it meets requirements under the Feed Act 2009.

The department also urged fish farmers to be careful in ensuring that the fish food they buy is from legitimate sources with recognised certificates.

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