Formalin issue: Goa fish traders, vendors to meet on Mon

Fish traders and vendors in Goa will Monday meet at Azad Maidan here to chalk out a plan of action against stringent rules set in place for trucks bringing fish into the state.

In order to tide over fears that formalin, a potential cancer-causing chemical, was being used to preserve fish being brought into the state, the Goa Food and Drugs Administration had imposed these conditions.

Margao Wholesale Fish Market Association chief Ibrahim Maulana Friday said that fish traders and vendors would gather at Azad Maidan here Monday to protest and chalk out a future course of action.

He said that documents demanded by authorities as well as rules imposed for trucks bringing fish had affected the trade and was threatening the livelihood of over 10,000 people.

He denied the presence of formalin in fish being sold in Goa and asserted that banning fish imports was not the solution to the issue.