First time announcing traditional fish sauce standards

On January 15, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in collaboration with traditional fish sauce associations across the country announced for the first time a set of standards for traditional Vietnamese fish sauce.

This set of standards has 7 parts, clearly stating from the scope of application, raw materials, technical requirements, testing methods... to labeling and transportation. Specifically, the raw materials used to make traditional fish sauce are sea fish, sea salt, water, sweeteners and flavor enhancers. Traditional fish sauce is divided into 3 grades, based on total protein content as follows: "Special" grade has a total protein content of N TP≥ 35g/l; “Premium” is 25g/l ≤ NTP < 35g/l and “grade 1” is 15g/l≤>< 25g/l. On the containers containing fish sauce for sale, the minimum must be written “traditional fish sauce” and total protein content.

Traditional fish sauce. Illustration photo

VASEP food safety expert, Mr. Vu The Thanh, one of the members of the compilation team, said: This set of standards was compiled according to Decree 127/2007/ND-CP detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations. The set of standards only applies to fish sauce products produced from the natural fermentation of a mixture of fresh sea fish and sea salt that meet the standards.Fish sauce used as food, for a minimum period of 9 months or more. Diluted fish sauce to reduce salt content, and additives such as colorants, flavorings, thickeners and preservatives are not within the scope of application.

According to Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of VASEP, the goal of this set of standards is to preserve the unique flavor of Vietnamese fish sauce products to introduce not only to consumers but also to the whole world. Therefore, the standards are basically drafted based on the standards that traditional fish sauce manufacturers have been implementing up to now, only adding some elements to ensure compliance with new production conditions. The issuance of this set of standards is a strong commitment to the quality of traditional fish sauce manufacturers in Vietnam, helping consumers better understand the quality and feel secure when using it.

The Vietnamese fish sauce market is currently valued at around 501 million USD, with more than 70,000 tons of fish sauce produced in 2015. The value of a bottle of industrial fish sauce is around 1 - 2 USD/bottle, while traditional fish sauce with high protein content and purity can cost up to 9 USD/bottle. Statistics from the General Statistics Office also show that each year, Vietnamese people consume more than 300 million liters of fish sauce, 75% of which is industrial fish sauce, the rest is traditional fish sauce. With low output and higher prices, traditional fish sauce is selectively targeting users and entering niche segments, leading to a narrowing of market share. Traditional fish sauce is facing many obstacles in surviving and regaining market share, especially the rapidly shrinking source of anchovies.

Notably, the recent incident in which Vinatas announced information about the results of a survey, causing confusion between the available arsenic content in sea fish and arsenic (a highly toxic substance) in fish sauce, has seriously affected the brand reputation of this product in the domestic and foreign markets.

In that context, the traditional fish sauce associations including Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City and some traditional fish sauce enterprises in the North have joined together to form the “Traditional Fish Sauce Club”, under VASEP. The establishment of a set of traditional fish sauce standards and this club is considered extremely necessary for traditional fish sauce enterprises to join together, overcome difficulties and develop in the coming time.

According to H.Chung/baotintuc