Taking fish samples from 4 central provinces to test 'can they be eaten'

The Ministry of Health is taking fish samples at ports, markets and farms in four central provinces including Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien - Hue to test for food safety, with results expected to be announced at the end of August.

Ms. Tran Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health), said that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has announced that seawater in 4 central provinces is “clean and safe for swimming”. However, to ensure people’s health, the health sector continues to take seafood samples at fishing ports, fish markets and aquaculture ponds for testing.

Based on the test results of these samples, the Scientific Council of the Ministry of Health and the Scientific Institutes will evaluate the food safety of fish in 4 central provinces including:Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue.“The Ministry of Health will try to have an answer, no later than the end of this month,” said Ms. Nga.

Mass fish deaths have occurred in four central provinces since April. Photo: Duc Hung.

According to Mrs. Nga,After the unusual fish deaths in the Central region in April, the health sector took more than 430 seafood samples from fish markets and fishing ports - where all types of fish caught in the waters of the four provinces are gathered. The results of the fish samples taken inApril-May showed a high percentage of samples that did not meet food safety standards.

Fish samples taken in July showed more positive results, with 7 out of 27 samples found to be contaminated with heavy metals. Of the 18 fish samples taken since the beginning of August, only one sample was found to have excessive levels of the heavy metal cadmium on August 19.

"The test results showed thatRecent fish samples that do not meet food safety standards mainly fail to meet heavy metal standards.No samples were found to be contaminated with phenol or cyanide," said Ms. Nga.

Research results published by scientists on August 22 show that the seawater in the Central region has "met the standards" for swimming and aquaculture.

In early April, the phenomenon of mass fish deaths originated from a number of fish cages near the Vung Ang industrial park (Son Duong, Ky Anh, Ha Tinh), then spread to Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, causing the lives of people in 4 central provinces to suffer. At a press conference on June 30, the Government announced that the culprit causing the mass fish deaths in the central region was Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation. The company's leaders admitted their wrongdoings and agreed to pay 500 million USD in compensation to remedy the consequences.

At that time, authorities advised people not to use dead fish as human food or animal feed.

According to VNE