CANACONA: Locals from Canacona have demanded that the authorities should allow them to visit the Quality Council of India (QCI) fish testing laboratory at Polem checkpost and prior attempts by them to inspect the premises have been blocked.
“The authorities should encourage people to visit the QCI lab and allow them to see for first-hand how the fish that they eat is checked before being certified safe for consumption. That will help the bridge the trust deficit,” said Prabhugaonkar insisted.
Locals who have tried to approach the lab personally were not allowed and argued about the merits of it being a restricted area. The officials at the side also refused to answer their queries.
On an average 35 to 50 trucks carrying Goans favourite mackerels, sardines, kingfish, pomfrets, shrimps etc pass through the Polem gate daily, from the States of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These vehicles have to follow various mandatory instructions when it comes to importing fish, which is checked at the QCI Lab for any presence formalin in order to determine if it’s safe for consumption.
