July 9, 2007

China's seafood exporters turn to third party certifiers to assure safety

Top farmed catfish exporters in China are hiring Swiss third-party certifiers to re-assure customers on the safety of their products in the aftermath of safety scandals that rocked the industry.

This has suggested a mistrust of local authorities, whose certificates were sometimes found on contaminated shipments.

Exporters are also pushed to seek third party certifiers after the US banned five of China's most common seafood exports.

However, experts say whether the trust in the Swiss standard would rub off on China's much damaged reputation on food safety is still highly questionable.