A lack of
consistency in seafood samples taken from central Vietnam seawater since mass
fish deaths hit the region earlier this year has left many concerned about
seafood safety there.
A report
submitted by the National Institute for Food Control (NIFC) to the Ministry of
Health shows that six out of nine seafood samples collected from the central
coastline were discovered containing excessive amounts of phenol, cyannual, and
cadmium, a heavy metal substance.
According
to the NIFC, out of the nine fish samples retrieved on August 5 from the
coastal area around Ha Tinh Province’s Ky Anh and Cam Xuyen Districts, one
contained high cadmium levels, about 0.079 milligrams per one kilogram of fish,
and six others were found with excessive phenol and cyannual.
Meanwhile,
the Agency of Food Safety under the Ministry of Health told Tuoi Tre (Youth)
newspaper on Tuesday that testing throughout August confirmed that only one out
of every 18 samples contained high levels of cadmium.
Responding
to the inconsistent results, a representative from the Agency of Food Safety
stated that the new findings by the NIFC were only recently updated.
Similar inconsistencies
have also been recorded on various testing done since the beginning of the mass
fish deaths in April.
Accordingly,
the Ministry of Health announced in late May that 97 out 140 fish, salt, and
water samples taken from the impacted coast areas did not include excessive
toxins.
In more
recent reports, the ministry stated that over 430 seafood samples collected in
April and May were discovered with high amounts of heavy metals including iron,
lead, and chromium.
Seafood
contamination in central Vietnam is believed to have started after massive
numbers of dead fish washed ashore in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua
Thien-Hue in April 2016.
By late
June, local and international scientists had concluded that wastewater from the
Vietnamese steel-making subsidiary of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group was
responsible for the environmental disaster.
The
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment asserted at a conference on
Monday that most, but not all of the central waters, are now safe for swimming
and fishing activities.
However,
the overall edibility of seafood from the region remains unclear, with local
fishermen concerned for their livelihoods.
The lack
of consistent test results has left a hung jury on fish safety in the region
and local authorities are uncertain of what to do with local seafood.
Nguyen
Huu Hoai, chairman of the Quang Binh People’s Committee, said hundreds of
metric tons of frozen fish have been put in storage with unclear plans for
their fate.
Meanwhile,
the Quang Tri administration has announced that it will dispose of 60 frozen
seafood bought from local fishermen between late April and May due to low
salability.
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