Vietnamese seafood meets EC safety regulations

The European Union (EU) inspection team assessed that the legal system, organizational structure and implementation of tasks of central and local authorities in controlling quality and food safety in Vietnam's seafood production chain continue to meet the regulations of the European Commission (EC).

The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) said this result was given by the EU inspection team after an inspection of the quality control system and food safety in seafood production exported to the EU in Vietnam at the end of 2012.



(Illustration photo: Le Huy Hai/VNA)

However, the EU inspection team also pointed out existing errors related to the hygiene conditions of pre-processing facilities (fishing vessels, fishing ports, ice facilities, seafood raw material purchasing, aquaculture facilities...) that need to continue to be improved.

In order to implement the recommendations of the EU inspection team, NAFIQAD recommends that the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces and localities continue to promote propaganda, dissemination, training and coaching activities for ship owners, fishing port managers, farming facilities and purchasing facilities on food safety.

The Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Management need to strengthen inspection of hygiene conditions for fishing ports, fishing vessels, purchasing, preliminary processing and processing facilities that unload aquatic products as raw materials for processing and exporting to the EU within their management scope. The departments monitor the corrective actions of the facilities against errors and resolutely handle or prepare documents to request competent authorities to handle cases of failure to ensure food safety in the exploitation and preservation of aquatic products after catching according to regulations.

In addition, the branches need to coordinate with the Fishing Port Management Board to control the quality of water used to preserve aquatic products at the port to ensure that they are produced from facilities that meet food safety requirements according to Vietnam's regulations.

Seafood processing enterprises exporting to the EU are only allowed to use raw materials to process seafood products exported to the EU from facilities inspected and certified by the Provincial/City Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management to ensure food safety. At the same time, enterprises regularly disseminate, propagate and train facilities supplying raw materials to processing factories exporting to the EU on knowledge about ensuring food safety./.

According to (Vietnam+) - LC