December 18, 2007

US-approved Chinese shrimp producer stirs Canada's disapproval

A Chinese seafood company exempted from US safety inspections has been cited by Canada for a cancer-causing antibiotic, detected in its shipment of frozen shrimp.

Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Product, the only Chinese seafood company exempted from automatic US Food and Drug Administration safety inspections, was on Canada's "import alert" list, subject to greater scrutiny.

A US Department of Health and Human Services official said the US did not know about the Canadian action until asked by The Wall Street Journal.

The HHS official said FDA officials would talk to their Canadian and Chinese counterparts before deciding whether to withdraw the company's exemption in the US.

The FDA explained that although seafood tainted with illegal antibiotics poses no immediate threat to consumers' health, it could still lead to long-term harm.

Guolian's special FDA arrangement indicates that its shipments get the same treatment as most US imports.

HHS spokesman, Kevin Schweers, said that under a pilot project, Guolian was chosen by Beijing to demonstrate how China's 700 seafood processors could obtain exemptions from the seafood inspections.