Formalin issue: Cong seeks certain FDA officer's appointment

The Congress in Goa Thursday demanded appointment of a particular officer of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to check fish at Margao wholesale market to ensure that formalin is not used for their preservation.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, in which he demanded that senior FDA officer Iva Fernandes be appointed at Margao fish market to check the fish imported from other states.

The state had seen a scare last year after suspicion that some of the fish imported here were laced with formalin, a potential cancer-causing chemical.

In July last year, Fernandes, who was part of the FDA team which tested fish at a wholesale fish market in Margao town of South Goa district, had confirmed the presence of formalin in fish. Thereafter, the Goa government had banned the import of fish from outside the state.

"...We humbly request you that Iva Fernandes be appointed as a designated officer with full power at Margao market as soon as possible in order to instill confidence in the minds of Goans, which will prove your sincere administrative power," Chodankar said in the letter to Sawant.

He pointed out that the fish testing laboratory set up by the Centre at Margao market is yet to become functional.

Fish are supplied to all the markets across Goa from the Margao wholesale fish market during the monsoon period when fishing is banned in the state.