Team Herald
PANJIM: Ninety-four fish-laden trucks entered Goa in the wee hours on Sunday, the second day after the State lifted the ban on fish imports. The fish samples cleared the FDA test, confirming no presence of chemical.
The easy-to-use spot testing kits of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Koshi, proved a boon for food safety officials, who used the technology for testing fish samples.
Seventy-three vehicles with Karnataka registration entered Goa through Polem check post and another 21 with Maharashtra registration entered the from Patradevi border.
“The fish samples collected from all 94 trucks, which entered the State from midnight till 5.30 am, cleared the FDA test. The fish was contamination free,” FDA official said.
The State government had on July 18 imposed a temporary ban on fish imports after it was suspected that formalin-laced fish had entered the State market. Government was at the receiving end, after FDA’s initial report had claimed the presence of formalin in fish. The FDA had later said the same was within permissible limits.
The ban on fish imports was lifted on August 3, wherein 17 trucks entered the State on the first day.
Meanwhile, the Congress party has raised doubts over the FDA’s testing process and has demanded that the ban on fish imports be extended further.
Speaking to media persons, Congress President Girish Chodankar said, “FDA testing mechanism cannot be trusted, considering its past goof-up over formalin laced fish report. Moreover, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is on record on the Floor of the House that FDA lacks the required technology and the same would be put in place soon”.
He demanded that government should further extend ban on fish imports and allow the local fishermen to get established in the market.
“Why do we need to import fish, when the local catch is enough to cater to our demands? Also, why is government allowing the local fish to be exported? There has to be certain restrictions,” he said.
Chodankar said that government has not been able to allay formalin fear from the minds of the consumers.
