August 22, 2012

Japan halts ethoxyquin check on Vietnam shrimps

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare stops laboratory checking of ethoxyquin residues for 30% of Vietnam’s shrimp consignments.

However, the Japanese side will monitor inspection over Vietnamese shrimp as well as keep the permitted residue of ethoxyquin of 0.01 ppm for the Vietnamese product, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said.

The low permissible level of ethoxyquin in shrimp products set by Japan has hindered Vietnamese shrimp exports to the market, the association said.

In July, shrimp exports to Japan fell 6% from the previous month, and decreased 1.4% from the same month last year.

The VASEP has proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to send petition to Japan, asking Japanese authorities to increase the permissible threshold of ethoxyquin in shrimp products to one ppm, equal to that in fish products.

Ethoxyquin is not a harmful antibiotic but is widely used as an antioxidant in fish meal and as a main component in animal feeds. Developed countries allow the use of ethoxyquin in fish meal at a level of 75-150 ppm.

Japan is one of the main importers of Vietnamese shrimp. In the first seven months of this year, the country spent US$328.74 million on importing shrimp products from Vietnam, accounting for 27% of the total shrimp export revenues of the Southeast Asian nation during the period.