No question of allowing import of fish without FDA compliance: Goa govt

The Association of Fish Wholesalers in the state had said they needed two months' time before they could ensure compliance with quality norms set by the state FDA

No truck carrying fish would be allowed to enter Goa unless the consignment complies with guidelines of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) department, the state government said Wednesday. The Association of Fish Wholesalers in the state had said they needed two months' time before they could ensure compliance with quality norms set by the state FDA.

The association had also told the FDA that testing of fish in markets should be resumed so that retailers regain people's confidence about the quality of fish. The import of fish into the coastal state has stopped after the Goa government withdrew permission to wholesale fish traders to bring fish from outside, asking them to adhere to FDA guidelines to get the permission.

"Representations without complying with FDA guidelines would be put in a shredder and thrown into dustbin. There is no question of I even interacting with them without these people complying with FDA guidelines," Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said Wednesday. Wholesale fish traders had suggested that FDA officer Iva Fernandes, who first certified that fish imported from outside was contaminated with formalin (a toxic substance used for preservation of cadavers), should be made in-charge of the fish testing facility.

People will begin to trust the quality of fish sold in local markets only when Fernandes certifies that there is no formalin contamination, they had said. Rane, however, refused to entertain this demand. "We are here to serve the people of Goa. There is no question of heeding anybody's representation or advice when they have not even come forward to comply with FDA guidelines," he said.

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