September 18, 2007

 

Indonesian seafood clears inspections by the US FDA

 

 

Indonesian seafood was rated safe for consumption by a team from the US FDA after 10 days of inspections, an Indonesian official said Friday (Sep 14).

 

The team gave the rating after conducting tours of fishery industry in four provinces.

 

Indonesian seafood scored an eight on a zero to 10 scale, Fisheries and Marine Affairs spokesman Saut P Hutagalung told The Jakarta Post.

 

The FDA team had checked on fish farms and processing units in East Java, North Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara and laboratories in Jakarta.

 

The inspectors also gave advice on ways to improve systems for storing, processing and checking on seafood products, Saut said.

 

Fisheries were advised to keep records of when fish are fed, the types of food they are fed and where the supplies came from.

 

The team also briefed officials on US expectations for the fishing industry.

 

The US is the top customer of Indonesian seafood, with imports worth US$691 million in 2006, a 30-percent increase from 2004.

 

The second largest customer is Japan with US$630 million worth, followed by the EU, with US$235 million.

 

Indonesia is sending a delegation to China in the hopes that authorities there would lift the ban imposed on Indonesian seafood. Chinese authorities claimed seafood from Indonesia was contaminated after the latter was said to have found health hazards in Chinese exports.