Formaldehyde in fish: Samples to be sent to CIFT Cochin, Gauhati High Court told

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Fishery Department informed the Gauhati High Court that fresh samples of fish will be sent to the Central Institute of Fishery Technology (CIFT) in Cochin, Kerala, after the earlier samples sent there were spoiled and deemed not fit for analysis. The Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, NE Region at Guwahati, did not find formaldehyde crossing the permissible limit in the samples sent to it, and the CIFT Cochin's report is expected to clinch the matter.

The HC bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Kardak Ete asked for the report from CIFT Cochin to be submitted as soon as it was available.

It should be mentioned here that there are various shortcomings in the reports by different agencies in determining the presence of formaldehyde, a chemical used to preserve dead bodies, even though other agencies entrusted with the task found the chemical formaldehyde in the fish imported from other states.

In light of the discrepancies, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL/31/2023) was filed before the HC by Hasibur Rahman, seeking reports from an independent agency as the Fishery Department continued to maintain that the presence of formaldehyde was not found in samples taken from the market.

In an earlier hearing, the Fishery Department submitted an affidavit stating that samples of fish have been collected and sent to the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, NE Region, at Guwahati, as well as the Central Institute of Fishery Technology at Cochin, Kerala, for ascertaining the level of formaldehyde present in freshwater fish as well as in brackish and marine fish, and reports from the said institutes are awaited.

In the instant hearing, the HC was informed that, as per the report received from the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, NE Region at Guwahati, formaldehyde was not found to be crossing the permissible limit in the samples sent to it. However, the CIFT at Cochin, Kerala, failed to submit a report since the samples sent to it were spoiled and not fit for analysis.

The counsel for the Fishery Department submitted that fresh samples will be forwarded to the CIFT in Cochin, Kerala, very soon, and the report of the said institute will be submitted before this Court as soon as it is received.

The bench granted six weeks' time to the department to do the needful and listed the case for hearing after six weeks.

Earlier, the HC underlined the shortcomings in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued for restricting import and sale of fish with use of formaldehyde to keep them 'fresh' for a longer duration and directed the state government to furnish an affidavit in respect of Kamrup (Metro) district detailing out the action taken by the Fishery Department pursuant to the SOP dated January 20, 2024.

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