Good news for Vietnam’s seafood lovers: the Ministry of Health recently declared fish from the country’s central provinces safe for consumption.
According to Tuoi Tre, the ministry held a meeting with provincial leaders on Monday to discuss the results of a previous study on the effect of pollutants on marine life in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue – the four central provinces most affected by the Formosa disaster last year.
At the event, health authorities presented findings showing that deep-water creatures collected off the coast of the above-mentioned provinces contain normal levels of toxins. Previously, this group of aquatic critters was deemed the most contaminated by pollutants.
“The Ministry of Health worked with international experts [to carry out the tests],” Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong shared at the meeting, the newspaper reports.
He also added that seafood samples collected from all water levels contain an acceptable level of cyanide.
“When it can be concluded that all indicators are at safe levels, the ministry will hold a press conference to let people know that seafood in central Vietnam is safe,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the audience at the conference. “This is important, as it concerns the livelihoods of the people.”
The study, however, wasn’t based on international standards for certain indicators, as they don’t exist, according to Cuong. Therefore, the ministry used seafood samples sourced from Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Hai Phong and Khanh Hoa provinces as control groups to compare the level of toxins.
Lab tests were conducted from June 2016 to March 2017.
“The only exception is samples collected from Ha Tinh’s Ky Anh District, which showed slightly high levels of phenol. We are still working with scientists to confirm this,” he added. “We will officially announce that the deep-water seafood sourced from the central coast is safe to eat as soon as samples return the same results for all controlled tests.”
Exactly a year ago, it was discovered that a steel plant operated by Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group was responsible for mass fish kills along the central coast of Vietnam. Local authorities ordered the firm to pay US$500 million as compensation in July last year and punished 11 environment officials earlier this year for their involvement in the scandal.
[Photo via Tuoi Tre]
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