October 2, 2014

Cheap imported shrimp being sold as Australian product, farmers claim

Shrimp farmers in Australia have accused local traders of selling imported shrimp labelled as Australian.

Describing the practice as prevalent and "fraudulent," Helen Jenkins of the Australian Prawn Farmers Association says sellers are substituting cheaper imported product and labelling it as Australian.

"It's rife. It's fraudulent," she said, adding that this widespread malpractice is "not fair to consumers."

Ms. Jenkins said that more than anything else, the practice poses a big health risk to consumers, since the use of antibiotics in shrimp farms is common in some shrimp-producing countries.

"We believe they are using (as a) last resort antibiotics to treat disease," she said. "I know oxytetracycline would be one of them."

High levels of antibiotics, according to her, can produce a reaction among some consumers that are allergic to them.

Overuse of antibiotics in animal production is also adding to the problem of resistance developing in bacteria to a range of antibiotics which is reducing their effectiveness.

The issue also affects producers in Australia who can't use antibiotics.

"It's not a level playing field if they are allowed to bring in products [using] antibiotics and we're not allowed to use them in Australia."

Shrimp is farmed across Australia, primarily in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Currently Australia produces about 4,000 tonnes of shrimp in ponds, catches 22,000 tonnes from the wild and imports 46,000 tonnes each year.