No formalin found in fish imported to Goa: Minister

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has said no trace of formalin has been found in fish brought to the state from outside. Regular checks were being conducted on fish imported to Goa, Rane said in the state Assembly on the last day of its monsoon session on Friday.

"The Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has been regularly testing samples of fish brought to Goa from outside and sold in local markets. Till date, no added formalin has been detected in any sample," he said in a written reply, to a question raised by BJP MLA Alina Saldanha. The state FDA staff was deployed at the border check posts and major markets to conduct inspections, he said.

"Till date, 6,003 samples were tested. No added formaldehyde (formalin) was detected in them," Rane said. The state government was also taking services of the Quality Council of India (QCI) to conduct random checks on fish brought on the state borders at Patradevi (North Goa district) and Pollem (South Goa district) and various local markets, he added.

In July last year, the state government banned the import of fish from outside, in view of the scare of formalin, a cancer-inducing chemical used to illegally preserve fish, being found in it. The ban was later lifted and the government launched stringent checking measures on all fish stock brought to the state.

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