April 25, 2006

US blacklists more Asian seafood companies for contaminated products
 

The US once again issued warnings about antibiotic residues in shrimp exported from Asian countries as it finds cases increasing over the past year.

Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) blacklisted Chinese Fujing Weilong Food Co Ltd for having malachite green in a consignment, just a week after Raoping Jialong Frozen Food was blacklisted for the same offence.

Malachite green is an antibiotic used to treat fungal and protozoal infections of fish and fish eggs.

Fourteen crab exporters from China, Vietnam and Indonesia have been blacklisted as their products have been found to contain chloramphenicol.

Fifteen other exporters have also been blacklisted, including four Vietnamese tra and basa exporters, three Chinese eel enterprises, one Thai company and a salmon breeder from Chile.

The companies were blacklisted for having nitrofuran, choramphenicol, oxolinic acid, malachite green or ciprofloxacin residues in their products.

They would be removed from the blacklist if they managed to export five safe consignments to the US, according to FDA regulations.