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| Frozen mackerel scads (Decapterus lajang) were found to be contaminated with phenol, a harmful chemical substance, at a seafood store in central Quảng Trị Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Thủy |
Viet Nam News
QUẢNG TRỊ — The Ministry of Health’s Department of Food Safety and Hygiene has urged the provincial authority to quickly send samples of frozen mackerel scads to Hà Nội City for further testing.
The requirement was made after the provincial authority tested samples of six fish species at a local seafood shop, including three batches of scads, and found that one batch of scads was contaminated with phenol, a harmful substance banned in food production.
The phenol content was 0.037mg per kg.
The provincial authority has ordered the owner of the shop to destroy 30 tonnes of scads.
The products were reportedly bought after fish in the central region died en mass.
Nguyễn Thanh Phong, director of the ministry’s food safety and hygiene department, said the department has asked the authority in central Quảng Trị Province to send samples of the contaminated fish and the process for testing of the fish species to the department.
After getting results from a test centre in Huế City, Phong said the provincial authority concluded that the fish tested positive for phenol.
He said to make a conclusion on the quantity of phenol in the fish, the tests had to be several times to get an accurate result.
The department would announce the test results to the public right after they were completed, he added.
The ministry will conduct regular tests on seafood to ensure it contains no harmful substances.
Phenols are widely used in household products and as intermediates for industrial synthesis. the substance may have a harmful effect on the central nervous system, heart, liver and kidney, resulting in dysrhythmia, seizures and coma. — VNS
