April 15, 2011
 

Japan to stop inspections on Chilean salmonid imports

 

 

The Japanese government decided to remove compulsory inspections for imports of Chilean salmon, trout, and their byproducts from April 1, 2011.

 

According to the National Director of the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca), Juan Luis Ansoleaga, Japan's decision will expedite these exports to the US market.

 

"It is a clear demonstration of confidence in the effectiveness of health surveillance systems that Chile has implemented through Sernapesca," he said.

 

From the first day of April, the Japanese authorities do not test shipments of salmon from Chile for residues of the antibiotic oxytetracycline. This was announced by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan in a communication addressed to the Embassy of Chile in Tokyo.

 

The head of the Foreign Trade Zone of Sernapesca, Cecilia Solis, said that during the transitional period, Japan will only inspect 30% of Chilean shipments.

 

"Under this scheme, if the inspections of 60 consecutive shipments show no drug residues at levels above 200 parts per billion (ppb), they would reduce the percentage of control to levels between 1% and 3% of shipments," Solis said.

 

For his part, Ansoleaga said that mandatory control was lifted by the absence of findings of shipments with high levels of oxytetracycline in recent years, according to Aqua.

 

"The removal of controls is a concrete example of how the public sector sets international standards of control, and the production and export sector to comply with this regulation," said the national director of the service.

 

In addition, Japan will also continue to require health certificates issued by Senapesca.

 

"However, the controls still apply to Sernapesca shipments of the drug and this shows the thoroughness of our work, allowing the process to reduce the entry of such products imported into Japan," Ansoleaga said.

 

The Sernapesca director said that if the Japanese authorities detect oxytetracycline concentrations greater than those permitted in shipments of Chilean salmon and trout during the transitional period, they will resume carrying out checks on all imports.