Noor Hisham said the sale of puffer fish is controlled under the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority Act 1972.

“In addition to this, Section 13 of the Food Act 1983 has sufficiently described the prohibition in the sale of any food that has in or upon it any substance which is poisonous, harmful or otherwise injurious to health,” he said in a statement today.

“Therefore, puffer fish which contain dangerous toxins are not allowed to be sold.”

While Noor Hisham made no mention of it, his statement comes after media reports of an 83-year-old woman in Kluang, Johor, losing her life after consuming puffer fish last Saturday.

The Star reported that Lim Siew Guan’s death was identified as food poisoning with neurological manifestation resulting in respiratory failure and irregular heart rate, possibly due to toxin ingestion from consuming the fish.

Lim’s daughter, Ng Ai Lee, 51, said her 84-year-old father, who is being treated at Hospital Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom’s Intensive Care Unit, bought the fish from a fishmonger who regularly visits their village.

“He would not have knowingly bought something so deadly to eat and put their lives in danger,” Ng said.

In his statement, Noor Hisham said there have been 18 deaths from 58 puffer fish poisoning incidents recorded from 1985 to this month.

He said the ministry has produced educational material to increase the public’s awareness about the dangerous toxins in puffer fish, adding that a 2019 survey found that 86% of the respondents had “sufficient knowledge” about the dangers of consuming puffer fish.

He said the survey consisted of members of the public, fishmongers, fishermen and chefs. However, he did not provide a sample size.