SHILLONG, June 14: The Fisheries Department has decided to constitute a fact-finding committee to check if formalin is being used in fish imported to the state.
The statement came from Fisheries Minister AL Hek after his meeting with members of the Khasi Jaintia Hills Fish Farmers’ and Retailers’ Association who presented a report from Andhra Pradesh stating that formalin was not being used there.
After the meeting, Hek told reporters that the fact-finding team, comprising experts from the department, will submit a report within 2-3 days.
The Meghalaya government had issued an order on June 8, banning the sale, distribution and storage of fish brought from outside the state for 15 days after presence of formalin was detected in at least 30 samples out of 42 taken up for testing.
Asserting that action should be taken if any illegality is detected, Hek said the ban should not be a prolonged one as it would affect fish farmers in the state.
Earlier, the association expressed concern over the government and the East Khasi Hills district administration’s practice of conducting formalin tests on imported fish only once every five years.
“I am of the view that testing should be done every day. Why does the issue of formalin in fishes surface every time before the Lok Sabha elections? I remember a similar thing had happened in 2018 when import of fish was banned due to same issue,” president of the association, Mitchell Wankhar said.
The association also questioned why the authorities were silent on the varieties of fish that had been tested positive for formalin and why the name of the state from where formalin-laced fish originated was being kept under wraps.
Asserting that fish brought from Andhra Pradesh was safe, Wankhar said the ban had negatively impacted the livelihoods of local fish sellers.
