July 2, 2007

 

EU to step up inspection measures on China's seafood exports
 

 

The European Union is following the US Food and Drug Administration's lead in stepping up scrutiny of Chinese farm-raised seafood, as global food security rapidly escalates as a public health and political issue.

 

"We will not hesitate to take action," said Philip Tod, an EU spokesman. "The same substances banned in the US are also banned in Europe." EU authorities in Beijing are talking to Chinese authorities and conducting an investigation, Tod said. They have already asked EU countries to increase their vigilance.

 

So far, China has met mounting concern over the safety of its food exports with alternating messages of concession and defiance. It has promised greater oversight, but also pointed out that US companies, too, have recently been implicated in the sale of tainted foodstuffs. In recent months, Beijing has stopped a number of shipments from the US at its borders.

 

But increased scrutiny by the EU, China's fourth-largest seafood export market and the fastest-growing of the four, or by other trading partners, could undermine Beijing's position.

 

Japan, the biggest export market for seafood from China, stepped up its inspections of Chinese eel exports in August 2005 after finding an increase in the number of shipments that didn't meet Japanese safety standards. Today, every eel imported from China is inspected, according to Kippei Baba, an official in the health ministry's section in charge of the safety of imported food.

 

On Thursday in Washington, the Chinese embassy struck a somewhat conciliatory note in response to the FDA's decision to detain all Chinese shipments of shrimp, catfish, basa, dace and eel unless they are proved free of residues of illegal antibiotics and chemicals. "Upon obtaining information from importing countries and regions concerning unsafe products, the relevant Chinese authorities have, with a positive attitude of cooperation, conducted immediate investigations and taken effective actions so as to crack down on illegal food exports," the embassy said in a statement.

 

At the same time, the embassy said the FDA has not yet provided it with any scientific evidence justifying the new safety alert. A spokesperson for the FDA wasn't immediately available for comment late Thursday in Washington.

 

The FDA's move comes after a string of safety alerts over Chinese food exports to the US The exports have included tainted wheat flour that eventually prompted a massive recall of US pet food, and toothpaste containing diethylene glycol, a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze. The past months have seen increasingly urgent calls for US government action by consumer advocacy groups, food and agriculture lobbies, and congressional representatives.

 

In announcing the move Thursday (June 28), the FDA said it had tested 89 samples of seafood from China from October 2006 to May and found that 25% of the farm-raised products contained potentially unsafe residues.

 

The US import alert on China's seafood isn't a full-scale ban. Rather, inspectors must demonstrate that seafood shipments are safe before allowing them into the country. However, some Chinese producers don't think the alert will have a huge impact on their business.