PANJIM: Against the backdrop of the formalin controversy and in a bid to provide quality food items to the people, the State in association with the Centre will set up a state of the art food testing laboratory.
The lab is likely to come up at the old Asilo hospital premises, which has been renovated. However, a decision in this regard is yet to be reached.
Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu held a meeting with Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai on Monday afternoon to discuss setting up of the laboratory by the Central government’s Export Inspection Agency (EIA) and Quality Council of India (QCI).
State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, last week, had a preliminary meeting with Prabhu in Delhi over the issue. “Last week it was pointed out to us by State Health Minister that there are certain apprehensions in the mind of people about quality of fish,” Prabhu said at Porvorim.
He said that during the meeting it was decided that the quality of food available in Goa should conform to the best. “Anything that is edible must be of best quality. Keeping that in mind we have decided to set up world class laboratory in Goa,” he said.
He said that organisations like EIA, whose certification is accepted by developed and health conscious countries in Europe, and also by Japan and USA, would be assisting in setting up the quality testing facility in Goa.
He said that the agencies have already begun their work for testing formalin in imported fish. The minister said that a mobile van would also be commissioned and that specific complaints can be dealt with. “Also, we are going to give online assistance to the complaints so that they can be addressed immediately with substantiated laboratory tests,” he added.
Sardesai said that the governments (Central and State) are trying to bring in a system by which the staple diet of the Goan people is assured to be safe. “Banning import of fish is not the solution it would be a knee-jerk reaction,” he said adding, “At the same time no mother or sister has to worry that what a child or younger brother is eating is food or poison. We want to build that system,” he added.
Apprehensions were raised in the past about presence of formalin that is being imported in the State.
