The news that fish being sold in Goan markets was tainted with formaldehyde to extend its shelf life prior to its long journey from states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka was met with shock and alarm from Goans living in the sunshine state as well as the those scattered the world over. Fish lies at the core of our culture. As a kid growing in Verna and walking to school I would hear the morning greeting “Nusteak kitem mellam gho?” “What did you get for fish today?”
Formalin is a recognised carcinogen and health hazard by agencies like the American Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Toxicology Program, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Cancer Institute all of who constantly monitor its airborne concentrations and toxicity. Their major concern is for industrial workers, doctors, technicians and mortuary employees who can possibly inhale it or come in contact with it during the course of their work. But a regular fish eater eating a sample laden with formalin? That is almost unheard of unless you are at the mercy of a despicable and unscrupulous fish industry probably aided and abetted by an equally monstrous and treacherous government.
Even more callous and irresponsible is the scientifically unproven information that is floating around by doctors, government workers and everyone else with a smart phone. Tips to remove formalin from fish and vegetables now float around in cyber space with actual percentages on their efficacy. But no one seems to know how and where these studies were conducted, the methods used and even worse if any studies were ever conducted!
It was equally reprehensible to see the Goan Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Director Jyoti Sardessai stonewall reporters with the most ludicrous statements and dismiss their questions like they were truant 6-year-olds. So can the FDA answer the following questions? What are these kits that they purportedly use to spot test the fish? How efficient are they? What is their level of detection? How long have they had them as many of these kits have a shelf life? Were they validated with more sophisticated techniques like High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spec or even simple colorimetry? All this instrumentation is available at the National Institute of Oceanography and Goa University and there are legions of trained chemists both working and retired who can be called in as experts. How were the fish samples collected and transported from the market to the laboratory? This is extremely important and could explain the different results obtained from morning to evening. And did she say she measured 14 samples? What is the statistical relevance of her tests? And more importantly what are the “acceptable” levels of formalin that she has come up with and who has decided on these levels? A report led Dr. Carlos Navarro, Clinical Professor of Pathology, Columbia University, USA states the following “No established permissible levels of exposure exist for direct contact with skin, eyes, or mouth because any contact is deleterious…”
It appears that the Goan FDA is not the independent entity that it is touted to be but it’s also not indispensable because it can be held accountable by citizen watch groups in a state noted for its high literacy rates. From fish we could go on to question the safety of our fruits and vegetables which are also suspected of containing formalin and pesticides. It’s imperative that people ask hard questions based on science and not be hoaxed and duped by unethical and unprincipled people governed primarily by the desire for money and power.
