Vietnam fish sauce found with excessive arsenic content: survey

The survey covered 150 samples produced by 88 different fish sauce manufacturers and found that only 16.67% of the products met Vietnamese standards, Vinastas told reporters in Hanoi.

According to the test, 67.33% of the samples contained more than the maximum allowable arsenic content limit of 1mg per liter. Amounts found in the surveyed products ranged from 1 to 5mg/l.

A consumer chooses fish sauce at a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City.

The samples were collected from fish sauce products available at trade centers, small markets and food stores in ten different provinces and cities.

The test focused on five parameters, among them nitrogen and arsenic contents and labeling, with 83.33% of the samples failing to meet standards on at least one parameter, according to Vinastas.

“The most noticeable violation was in the real protein content of products being much lower than claimed on the label,” the association commented.

The news of excessive amounts of arsenic in fish sauce, a daily condiment in Vietnamese cuisine, should leave the public shocked.

Vuong Ngoc Thuan, Vinastas deputy general secretary, reassured a press conference that the arsenic found in fish sauce is in its organic form.

According to the World Health Organization, arsenic is highly toxic in its inorganic form, and long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking-water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions. It has also been associated with developmental defects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes.

“There were no traces of inorganic arsenic found in the surveyed fish sauces,” Tuan said.

“So it can be confirmed that Vietnamese fish sauces remain safe.”

However, Tuan added that the manufacturers’ incorrect labeling of the protein content means Vietnamese consumers are overpaying for fish sauce.

“Consumers shouldn’t be buying a product with a low protein content at the same price as one with a high protein content,” he said.

The Vietnam Food Administration said it is also reviewing the fish sauce market and will report their results to the government.

Fish sauce, an amber-colored liquid extracted from the fermentation of fish with sea salt, is a must-have condiment for Vietnamese families, with 95% of households using the product in their meals, according to Vinastas.

Vietnamese people consume some 200 million liters of fish sauce a year, but only 50 million liters of it is produced in the traditional way through fish fermentation. The rest is industrially manufactured by mixing fish essence, flavoring, coloring, preservatives and sweetener.

In July another Vinastas survey found that more than 30% of coffee consumed daily in four Vietnamese provinces and cities had a low caffeine content.

The survey indicated that 30.04% of the samples taken had a caffeine content of less than one gram per liter. Five samples were found to contain no caffeine at all.