Latest testing provides reassurance on safety of Lough Neagh fish
Latest results from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) reaffirms that fish from Lough Neagh is safe to eat, and existing food safety advice remains unchanged.
Image of a scientist in a laboratory
The FSA has completed its 2025/26 sampling programme, with the findings supporting the continuation of existing FSA food safety advice for fish from Lough Neagh.
Food businesses, such as commercial fisheries, are reminded to follow good processing procedures such as proper evisceration to remove intestines, liver and gills where cyanotoxins can accumulate.
Advice to recreational anglers remains unchanged – they should ensure that they only eat edible flesh of fish that have been properly gutted, and that the fillets are rinsed with clean water to remove any contamination from the gutting process.
The FSA has been monitoring fish from Lough Neagh since the significant blue-green algal bloom emerged in summer 2023, testing different species to understand the levels and types of cyanobacterial toxins that may be present.
The FSA sampling programme assessed fish from Lough Neagh between May 2025 and March 2026 for a range of cyanotoxins, which can be produced by the blue- green algal (cyanobacterial) blooms in the Lough.
Philip Kennedy, Head of Food Safety Policy and Delivery at the FSA in Northern Ireland said:
“These latest results provide further reassurance that fish from Lough Neagh are safe to eat. FSA food safety advice remains unchanged.
“Food businesses should continue to follow good processing practices, including removing the intestines, liver and gills where cyanotoxins can accumulate.
“Recreational anglers can continue to eat their catch, provided care is taken when gutting fish and fillets are rinsed with clean water before cooking or freezing”.