the goan I network
PANAJI
The State government has removed FDA official Iva Fernandes, as the “designated officer” (South Goa) exactly a year after the team led by her had conducted a pre-dawn raid at the wholesale fish market which triggered the controversy of alleged use of formalin to preserve fish.
The order issued last week, replaced Fernandes with another FDA official Richard Noronha as the ‘Designated Officer’ in-charge of Food Safety Administration in South Goa under the Food Safety and Standards Act.
According to the order, Noronha will now be the designated officer in-charge of Food Safety Administration in both the districts of the State - North Goa and South Goa.
The team led by Iva Fernandes had in July last year, found several samples randomly picked from trucks bringing in fish from other states to be testing positive for formalin, a carcinogenic liquid generally used in human corpses.
The reportage of the raid and subsequent actions of the then Manohar Parrikar-led coalition government to cover up the matter had spiraled into a major public health and political row.
Fernandes who was at that point of time the ‘designated officer’ had refused to bow down to pressure when former Deputy chief minister, Vijai Sardesai, who was TCP minister then, had sought to
verbally instruct on phone.
Hours later, however, Fernandes was admonished by FDA director Dr Sardesai, who then ordered a second test on the fish samples at the agency’s own lab in Bambolim, which certified the fish safe and formalin “within permissible limits”.
She was removed from the position but a groundswell of public support had forced the government to restore her designation.
