New US rules for VN's tra catfish exports begin

March 11, 2016 | 16:35

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The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will inspect Viet Nam's tra and basa catfish imported to the country since April 15 under its new regulations.

The FSIS gave permission to 23 local eligible exporters to export their catfish to the US market on March 1. - Photo qdfeed.com

According to the National Agro, Forestry, Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad) of the Viet Nam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), there were 23 eligible catfish exporters of Viet Nam, who could ship their products to the United States (US). These products would be shipped under the inspection programme of the US for Siluriformes fish, including catfish.

On February 4, Nafiqad sent a list of Viet Nam's 45 enterprises who have registered to export tra catfish to the US, according to requirement of the FSIS.

The FSIS gave permission to 23 local eligible exporters to export their catfish to the US market on March 1.

On March 7, Nafiqad had also proposed to the FSIS to grant export licences to 22 other local tra catfish exporters. The 22 local exporters need to complete all procedures to the department.

The 23 local eligible catfish exporters should actively check its systems of managing quality and food hygiene and safety to ensure quality of catfish exports which meet the US standards, Nafiqad was quoted in the Hai quan newspaper.

They could co-operate with the Nafiqad to remove the obstacles during inspections of their quality management systems, the department said.

The US released a list on March 1 of eligible catfish exporters of Viet Nam, China, Myanmar and Thailand, who could ship their products to that country.

From March 2016, all Siluriformes fish, including catfish, were put under the regulatory jurisdiction of FSIS and would no longer be regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The March 2016 date under the inspection programme for Siluriformes fish is the start of an 18-month transitional implementation period for both domestic and international producers.

VNS

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