MARGAO: Health Minister Vishwajit Rane along with SGPDA Chairperson Renuka D’Silva, FDA Director Jyoti Sardesai, CIFT Scientist Dr Lali and Goa Forward leaders descended on the SGPDA retail market to test fish using the CIFT strips.
The group went around collecting fish samples from various vendors after which Dr Lali tested the fish samples using the strips invented by CIFT. All the fish samples tested negative for formalin.
In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the CIFT strips, Dr Lali then poured formalin solution on fish samples and tested the fish again. As expected the strips changed colour to blue thus confirming the formalin in the sample.
Interestingly, the formalin solution used by the scientist was of a higher concentration of 100ppm. Herald asked with Dr Lali whether the strips are effective at a lower concentration of 5 to 10 ppm. Dr Lali stated that she did not prepare the solution claiming that it would have got evaporated by the time they reached Margao. Herald also asked whether 5-10ppm can be used for preserving fish but Dr Lali did not respond.
Rane attacked the Congress for trying to create panic among the people of Salcete and also creating a loss to the livelihood of fish vendors. He even hinted that fingers of the Congress leaders who did the test on Saturday might have dipped their fingers in formalin which caused the strips to change colour.
Claiming that the CIFT test is the only test available recognised by the Food Safety Standard Authority of India to do spot analysis for formaldehyde, Rane said that after that is done, the samples have to go to the lab and after doing lab analyses you can do prosecution. He even attacked the test conducted by the FDA technicians in the wholesale fish market stating that “Shiffs Reagent which was done earlier detects any form of aldehyde, not just formaldehyde. Even in our blood, there is aldehyde but if we want to do a specific test for external usage of formaldehyde for fish preservation, this test is the only test recognised by the government of India.”
