Monitoring reports of formalin in fish: Parrikar

Took steps as people are worried, the Goa Chief Minister says.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said he had to make an intervention in the ongoing controversy surrounding the use of formalin in fish, because people had stopped eating fish in Goa.

“I was keeping quiet initially, but since fish is a staple food, finally I had to say yesterday (Saturday) ‘Don’t worry, I am monitoring [it] myself’, said Mr. Parrikar.

“I think that was required because people stopped eating fish. How can Goans live without fish?,” Mr. Parrikar said at a function here on Sunday.

‘Within limits’

Goa Food and Drugs Administration officials had claimed that formaldehyde was used to preserve fish, after a raid on fish consignments coming from other States last week.

The controversy took a major turn after Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai tweeted that the fish was fit for consumption, following which the FDA in a statement said that Formalin was “within permissible limits”.

Fish markets in the coastal tourist State have been in crisis over the last few days, with consumers staying away from them unsure of the quality of fish.