July 24, 2003

EU Relaxes Testing Requirement For Shrimps From Indonesia

On July 22, the European Commission announced that it will relax its requirements for Indonesian shrimp exports to the EU.

Systematic testing on all consignments of Indonesian shrimp exports to the EU was imposed in 2001 after unacceptable levels of the banned chemical substance chloramphenicol were found in warm-water shrimps.

The announcement came after the EU's Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health supported a European Commission recommendation to lift the requirement.

Officials were satisfied with the action plan put in place by the Indonesian authorities to address the problem, and the results of the checks carried out by Member states, showed a major improvement in the situation.

Also, the Indonesian authorities guarantees that all consignments of shrimps are now submitted to a systematic pre-shipment check to control the presence of chemicals and other residues.