June 8, 2007

China authorities seek explanation for US catfish ban

Chinese authorities have said they hoped to hold discussions with the US over the issue of its catfish shipments banned in some US southern states.

Various states such as Alabama have banned catfish shipments from China due to discovery of residual fluoroquinolone levels beyond acceptable levels. Other states like Mississippi, Arkansas and North Carolina have also enacted tougher restrictions on Chinese catfish imports or imposed limited bans.

Alabama is one the top catfish producing states in the US.

The Chinese national seafood quality inspection authorities said they have held discussions with the US FDA over the issue and asked for concrete explanations. However, the FDA has not replied to their queries.

Chinese officials said that the antibiotic in question, fluoroquinolone, is banned in the US, but not in other developed countries like the EU and Japan.

Even discounting that, while US Federal laws allow for levels of fluoroquinolone up to 5 parts-per-billion, states like Mississippi and Alabama has zero-tolerance, which is in conflict, they said.

They also pointed to an FDA sample of Chinese catfish which found that none of the samples exceeded the allowed levels of 5 ppb.

Chinese authorities also demanded scientific grounds on why the two states established zero tolerance standards.