Wreck of MSC Napoli: food safety advice
Friday 26 January 2007
The Food Standards Agency has issued advice on the safety of fish caught in the area surrounding the wreck of MSC Napoli in Lyme Bay off the east Devon coast.
The grounding of the MSC Napoli has resulted in the loss of approximately 200 cargo containers and a relatively small amount of oil. The ship was carrying some hazardous chemicals among its cargo but this material is still on board. The remaining oil on the ship is being removed and the cargo is being made safe for eventual removal.
Sampling
Regular sampling of the water and other materials is being carried out by the Environment Agency and other bodies.
At the moment there is no evidence that the shipwreck has caused any pollution significant enough to pose a threat to the quality or safety of fish and shellfish caught in Lyme Bay or collected from the coast of the bay.
The Agency will advise people if the situation changes.
Advice to fishermen
The Agency is reminding fishermen that normal food safety requirements continue to be in place: if any fish or shellfish are caught that smell tainted then, in the normal way, they should be discarded and not sold or eaten.
Additionally, if any bivalve molluscs are harvested from areas that might be affected by oil there is a risk that they will exceed the maximum permissible levels for hydrocarbons.
Fisherman are advised to follow the advice from the Marine Fisheries Agency, Coastguard and others about avoiding certain sea areas (there is a mandatory 500-metre exclusion zone in place and a five-mile advisory zone).
This has been issued to ensure that fisherman do not put themselves or their boats at risk and to prevent interference with the clean up and recovery operations.