Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has issued a safetycontrol programme designed for Siluriformes fish (mainly tra and basa) and relatedproducts exported to the US market as part of efforts to adapt to new changesin the market.
The programme,starting from September 1, 2017, will apply strict supervision on all stages offish farming, processing and exporting. Qualified products must satisfy 85criteria of the US regarding veterinary medicine, 106 criteria on pesticides, 4on dyeing chemicals, 17 on metals and 8 in biochemistry.
In case a fish batchgets warnings from the US authorized agency, the NationalAgro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) will request theprocessor to trace origin of the batch, while investigating reasons why thebatch fails to meet food safety requirements. The department will also halt thefacility’s Siluriformes fish export to the US, while handling its violations.
In early July, the USFood Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it will apply new regulationsin import under the inspection programme for Siluriformes fish from August 2instead of September 1 as stated earlier.
Under the regulations,authorized agencies in the exporting country must submit to the FSIS documents toprove that the country’s food safety control system is equivalent to that of theUS.
The MARD’s newprogramme aims to demonstrate the equivalence and minimise refusals of fishbatches export to the US, thus reducing costs for enterprises.
According to theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the firstsix months of this year, the US remained the leading market for Vietnam’s trafish. However, tra fish export revenue in the US reached only 176.4 millionUSD, a drop of 5.7 percent compared to the same period last year. Due to highanti-dumping tax rate, only three Vietnamese firms managed to export tra fishto the market with considerable volume and value.
VASEP predicted thatin the rest of the year, tra fish export to the US will continue falling.-VNA
VNA
