August 24, 2016

Vietnamese authorities have become stricter in enforcing safety standards for aquaculture product exports, warning local companies that they won't get their export licenses renewed if they failed to comply.

The warning came after shipments to the EU were rejected for containing excess levels of antibiotics, local newspaper VN Express International reported.

Effective last August 15, the licenses of companies whose shipments were found with excessive antibiotics would only be renewed after full investigations into the allegations and corrective measures have been taken. In addition, they should pass strict inspections conducted by Vietnam's national agro-forestry-fisheries quality assurance department.

Earlier this month, a Vietnamese agriculture firm shipment of aquaculture products were stopped by the European Commission's Health and Food Safety Department after they were found to contain traces of a banned antibiotic.

These included catfish shipments from the Can Tho Export-Import Seafood JSC, which Germany blocked due to traces of sodium carbonate. Fish shipments from the Southern Fishery Industries Co. Ltd. were also turned away by Spain after sodium erythorbate was detected.