Vietnam on Monday fined scores of news outlets for publishing now-discredited reports about toxic fish sauce, accusing them of sparking public panic over the staple condiment in a country plagued by food scares. Reports emerged in mid-October that some fish sauce contained dangerously high levels of arsenic, with local media mainly citing a survey by the state-controlled Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinastas).
The stories ignited widespread fear in Vietnam, where fish sauce is consumed daily by most of the country's 93 million people - as a dipping sauce, marinade or in soups. The government said Monday the reports failed to distinguish between highly-toxic inorganic arsenic, and organic arsenic which is present mainly in seafood and is less toxic. "The news caused panic in our society, causing consumers to boycott traditional fish sauce... seriously undermining Vietnam's age-old fish sauce production," the Ministry of Information and Communication said on its website.
Traditional fish sauce is made from fermented fish, while more modern versions are made with artificial flavouring. The survey suggested that traditionally-made sauces were toxic. The ministry fined 50 news organisations for running the reports, including the mainstream Thanh Nien newspaper which was slapped with a nearly $9,000 penalty.
The newspaper, which received the highest fine because it also ran its own independent survey, was accused of "publishing incorrect information that undermined national interests", the ministry said. Other fines ranged from $450 to $2,200 and the ministry said 560 news items in total were published.
Vietnam rarely has to punish its own media because the communist party controls all newspapers which are filled with state-sanctioned reporting and propaganda. The reports were declared false after an investigation by the Health Ministry, which later concluded the fish sauce to be safe. This is not the country's first food scare. In April, tonnes of dead fish began washing ashore in central Vietnam, sparking panic about whether the marine life was safe to eat.