Ban import of fish till high-tech lab is not set up: Sardesai

Old Goa:  Goa Forward Party Chief and Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai stated that  retail fish markets are deserted by customers after fear of formalin being used to preserve the commodity has gripped them.

Sardesai was addressing 31^st National Conference by Maharashtra Society of Agriculture Economic on “Agro-Tourism, Doubling of Farmers Income, Economics of Production and marketing of Cashew and Coconuts” near Panaji.

“How safe is the food that we eat? Today, we are discussing this issue in Goa. It has become a big issue,” the minister told delegates after inaugurating the three day long conference.

“Our staple diet is fish and we used to get it from the East Coast when there is ban on fishing on the Western Coast (during monsoons),” he said.

“That fish which was imported from East Coast was supposedly laced with formaldehyde (chemical) which is used as a preservative. It (preservative)   is also carcinogenic,” Sardesai said.

“Today, in Goa the retail fish markets, specially in the area where I stay (Margao town in South Goa) are deserted,” the minister said.

Sardesai said that the State government had built state-of-the-art fish market in Margao, a model which was copied from Dubai. “That fish market has given best facility to retail fish vendors. But nobody is coming in that market now because there is a fear,” he said.

Sardesai said that the State government had approached Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and  urged that Quality Council of India, which actually overlooks the exports which leaves from India and goes to the countries like European Union, where there are strict regulations, that should be brought here in Goa.

“Prabhu  has promised us. As and when the labouratory comes, till then, I am of the opinion that we have to ban imports because safety of food is an issue whether the food that we are consuming is food or poison has now become a question,” he commented.