June 19, 2012

Vietnam to constrict measures over ethoxyquin use in feed products

Aiming to better control the use of the preservative, Vietnamese fish and shrimp feed producers have been requested by the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to print the content of ethoxyquin on their product packaging.

The request is mentioned in the Dispatch 1787/BNN-QLCL of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development released last week.

In the dispatch, the ministry asked the General Directorate of Fisheries to immediately check fish feed products for ethoxyquin content, both locally produced and imported, and submit a report to the ministry no later than August 15.

Ethoxyquin is a kind of antioxidant preservatives mixed in animal and fish feed. Japan's decision to apply an ethoxyquin limit of 0.01 ppm makes it more difficult for Vietnamese seafood to enter this market.

An inspector of the agriculture ministry said the ministry's Circular No. 66 had set specific regulations on animal feed management. However, feed makers only list the nutrition facts on the packaging, while antioxidant additives like ethoxyquin are not revealed.

Ho Quoc Luc, head of the Shrimp Committee at the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said now is a critical moment for shrimp exports to Japan. Despite the mandatory tests for forbidden substances, local enterprises still export to Japan as it is the biggest market for Vietnamese shrimp with higher selling prices than other markets.

The ministry must resolve the issue of prohibited substances like ethoxyquin as soon as possible if not wanting to lose the Japanese market to other regional countries, said Luc.

Japan, one of the biggest importers of Vietnamese shrimp, spent US$136.2 million on importing shrimp from Vietnam in the year to April 15, accounting for 26.7% of the latter's revenue from shrimp exports during the period.