GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court directed the Chief Secretary, Government of Assam; Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Food and Civil Supplies Department (Food Safety); Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Fishery Department; and the Principal of Nagaon College to file preliminary responses to the averments made in a PIL within 10 days of the issue of the notice.
Hearing a PIL, the division bench of Gauhati High Court comprising of Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Mitali Thakuria said, “Preliminary response to the averments made in the PIL shall be filed by the respondents within ten days from today.”
A Public Interest Litigation in Gauhati High Court (PIL/31/2023) was filed by one, Hasibur Rahman, a resident of Guwahati saying that the State Government has failed to prohibit the import of fish into the State despite research conducted by Nagaon College which finds that there is the presence of formalin in imported fish coming to Assam.
The study discovered that imported fish in Assam contains formaldehyde, arsenic, and cadmium, all of which are highly harmful to the health of consumers.
A guidance note titled 'Issue of Formalin in Fish' developed by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in collaboration with the ICAR and CIFT, warns that large amounts of formaldehyde can cause severe abdominal pain, vomiting, coma, renal injury, and possibly death.
According to media reports, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified formaldehyde as "carcinogenic to humans" with sufficient evidence for nasopharyngeal cancer in humans.
According to the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, formaldehyde is not utilised in food. It further notes that formalin is a common adulterant in fish and that fish traders and suppliers use it to lengthen the storage life of fresh or chilled fish and to artificially improve sensory characteristics, stated media reports.
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