Formalin scare: Goa government lifts ban on import of fish from other states, continues vigil on border check posts

Panaji: The Goa government has lifted the ban on the import of fish from other states, and is keeping a strict vigil on border check posts to ensure consignments entering its territory are free of toxic chemicals. The fish import ban was imposed in Goa last month in the wake of formalin scare and it was lifted Friday night. Food and Drugs Administration Minister Vishwajit Rane told PTI on Saturday that teams of experts from his department thoroughly checked fish-laden trucks that arrived on the Goa border since Friday night. [caption id=“attachment_4892181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty Images[/caption] The teams were stationed at Pollem is South Goa, which borders Karnataka, and Patradevi in North Goa along the Maharashtra border. They took fish samples from these trucks and did an on-the-spot analysis for the presence of any harmful chemical. No chemical was found in the fish samples, he said. The government had banned the import of fish on 18 July after the Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA) initial report confirmed the presence of formalin, a toxic chemical, in them. Formalin was applied on fish imported from outside the state as a preservative, according to the FDA. The chemical, harmful to human health, is used to preserve bodies and prevent their decay in mortuaries. The department had later withdrawn its report. “Testing of imported fish samples started at Pollem and Patradevi check posts from midnight onwards. Fourteen trucks carrying fish from Karnataka had arrived at the Pollem check post till 7.30 am today,” Rane said. At Patradevi, three vehicles entered the state and fish samples collected from them tested negative for chemicals, the minister said. The FDA will keep a vigil at the border even during the daytime, he said. The Congress had stalled the Assembly during the recently-concluded Monsoon Session for three days over the issue of formalin-laced fish, demanding a thorough probe into the entire episode.