No such thing as permissible limit for formalin: Scientist

PANAJI: A day after two experts separately confirmed to TOI that formalin is not inherent in fish, a senior scientist said no permissible limits have been fixed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for the cancer-causing chemical.
“There is no such thing called permissible limit fixed by the FSSAI,” the senior scientist with an autonomous research organisation in Goa said.
“Very recently, a guidance note released by FSSAI shows how confirmatory testing has to be done to check the formalin adulteration in fish and has outlined the protocols for analysis of added formalin. I don’t know what the Goa FDA was doing, but there should be adequate testing centres where these methods have to be followed,” he told TOI on Tuesday.
On Thursday last, the food and drug administration (FDA) had found traces of formalin in fish imported from other states when it did spot tests but later issued a statement that the toxic chemical “was within permissible limits”.
But within 24 hours, the FDA made another startling statement: “It is to be noted that marine fish naturally contains certain amount of formalin.”
“Formalin is easily available and is often used in the plastic industry. It is very cheap as well. From what information we have received, the fish is swabbed with formalin and the water which is then frozen to be ice is also injected with it,” the senior scientist said.
The government, which has been on a denial mode on the formalin in fish issue, has been dishing out assurances with chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday telling his party workers: “The people of the state should not worry, I will see that Goans do not consume contaminated fish.”
Earlier on Saturday, Parrikar for the first time after the controversy broke out, tweeted that he is personally monitoring the “formalin in fish” issue and has told the FDA to seize all trucks carrying adulterated food.
But on Tuesday, fisheries minister Vinod Palyekar told TOI that he is yet to put up a note to the FDA to check imported fish.
The FSSAI advisory note has indicated the procedure to collect formalin-adulterated fish samples and said it should not be in direct contact with ice because the chemical may leach onto the ice.
“If the detection is done with direct contact with ice, then they may show different types of values, because the ice water will have more formalin because of leaching. The fish should preferably be sent to the lab for testing using gel ice packs,” the senior scientist said.