August 25, 2011

Vietnamese seafood receives antibiotics warning from Japan

Since the start of this year, as many as 68 batches of Vietnamese-imported seafood products have been issued warning by the Japanese authorities regarding the overuse of antibiotics, according to the Vietnamese media on August 19.

These seafood products were mostly shrimp, octopus, tuna and salmon, the newspaper said.

Japan is now the third largest importer of Vietnamese seafood products.

Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said Japan has reduced the maximum level of antibiotic residues to a very low level, so the number of Vietnamese seafood export batches violating these regulations has increased recently.

Vietnamese exporters have not had an opportunity to update its control of antibiotic residues to comply with these new regulations, he added.