Curtains came down on the monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, but not before touching upon the crucial formalin-laced fish issue earlier in the day. Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas sought definite answers to questions raised by this newspaper on fish testing at the borders in its July 16 edition. Concerns were raised over the testing done at the Polem check post by the facility set up by the Quality Council of India.
The report explained how drivers and helpers handed over samples of transported fish to officials of QCI at the border and collected the clearance challan, which had no mention of a formalin check. The report highlighted the shortcomings of testing and raised pertinent questions about transparency and authenticity.
On Thursday, while the issue came up in the House, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane defended the fish testing and explained how an independent agency was engaged to dispel any doubts about the FDA checks. Nonetheless, Rane explained the need to be health conscious in the wake of growing cancer cases in the State which he said have exponentially grown over the years, surpassing cases of cardiac arrests and other prominent ailments in the State.
While a crucial point was made to support the argument on health, the mechanism on the ground, including the QCI testing, fell short of winning people's confidence. In this context, appointing an independent agency does not absolve the State government of its responsibility. In this regard, there must be periodic counter-checks to plug loopholes in protocols, primarily when red flags are raised. The State authorities cannot wash their hands off because a national agency is at work.
In this context, the health minister must take enough steps to allay people's fears rather than prioritising the interest of fish vendors at the market. The question here is not about losing business, as pointed out by Rane on the floor of the House. The question is about securing the health of every fish-consuming citizen, and if cancer has links to formalin-laced fish, there must be tighter checks and counter checks. One of the suggestions that the Benaulim MLA put forth was to make readily available quick-testing kits at the market. Do all that is needed to ensure that formalin does not haunt our fish markets.
Goa has been dabbling with the idea of a food testing laboratory since 2017. On January 28, 2019, the government unveiled a plaque to mark the inauguration of the Export Inspection Agency's new office and laboratory complex set up by the Export Inspection Council. At the inauguration Union Commerce Minister, Suresh Prabhu said that Goa will be one of the 13 coastal States in the country to have a world-class testing lab. The lab never saw the light of the day till now.
It is a positive sign that the Health Minister understands the consequences of formalin. There is an urgent need to put enough systems in place so that any doubts in the minds of citizens are cleared. Secretive checks and certificates that don't give a 'formalin-negative' clearance are meaningless when the contamination concerns are so loud. We hope better sense prevails.
