Boxes containing fish destroyed in Goa over formalin scare

Amid concerns over presence of formalin, the Goa government Wednesday destroyed several boxes containing fish that was being transported without proper documents.

The police impounded a truck carrying hundreds of boxes of fish in Margaon, after a local resident raised alarm claiming the fish was laced with formalin, State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told reporters this evening.

He said the vehicle was carrying 120 boxes of fish of various varieties.

Margao Police Inspector Kapil Nayak, who was investigating the matter, was told by the driver that the fish was being brought from Betim Jetty in North Goa and was taken to Industrial Estate at Cuncolim in South Goa for processing.

Rane said the police didn't find any documents with the driver.

"We did not take any chance and the total stock was sent to state-run Solid Waste Management Plant at Saligao in North Goa for destruction," he said.

The state government has withdrawn licences of all the wholesale fish traders after locals expressed fear that formalin was used to preserve the fish.

The purported presence of formalin--a preservative believed to be carcinogenic--had prompted the state government to ban import of fish from other states for some days.