Dried shrimps in Sabah market sprayed with unknown substance caught on clip

Two men were seen spraying an unidentified substance on dried shrimp at a market in downtown Kota Kinabalu in a video that was widely shared on Facebook. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE

KOTA KINABALU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Concerns have been raised in Malaysia about the hygiene and freshness of dried seafood after a video emerged showing the shrimps at a local market being sprayed with an unknown substance.

The video, shared by a Facebook user who works at the Sinsuran area in downtown Kota Kinabalu, showed two men spraying the unidentified substance on the dried shrimps meant for sale at the central market in the Sabah capital.

Dried shrimps are one of Sabah's most sought after products for domestic and foreign tourists.

Social media users expressed shock and concern over the video which has since garnered more than 10,000 views and shared almost a thousand times just hours after it was uploaded.

When contacted, the video uploader who wished to remain anonymous, said that was the first time she noticed them doing such a thing out in the open.

"I wonder if this has been going around for some time because they seemed unconcerned and did not care there were people looking at what they were doing," she said.

However, it was learnt that city hall officials came to know about the video not long after it was posted and had gone to the area to speak to the two men.

The officials also took samples and ordered the two men to pack up and leave with them.

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