'Naturally occurring' levels of formalin in sampled fish: Goa

The Goa Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) today said that the concentration of formalin found in fish tested by it was "on par" with its "naturally occurring" levels and that there was no "added amount" of it.

The FDA issued a statement today after allegations from some quarters of the media that it had gone back on its findings on the presence of formalin in fish.

FDA teams had yesterday raided wholesale fish markets in Margao in South Goa and Panaji in North Goa and its "spot analysis" of the fish, coming in from other states, had shown the presence of formalin.

The raids had led to protests from the state's fish traders who observed a shutdown in wholesale markets for the entire day yesterday.

In a statement issued today, the FDA said, "The laboratory analysis performed on the fish samples drawn from Margao and Panaji wholesale markets showed the results on par with the naturally occurring concentration for the different fishes tested, ruling out the possibility of added amount of formalin."