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| US authorities reject a 20,000 kg shipment of imported catfish from Viet Nam as of banned chemicals. — Photo vov.vn |
HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has rejected a 40,000 pound (about 20 tonnes) shipment of imported catfish from Viet Nam because it tested positive for residues of banned chemicals.
According to a news release from Food and Water Watch on August 9, the fish had traces of malachite green, a veterinary drug used to treat sick fish.
The inspection of catfish became part of USDA's jurisdiction on April 15. Before that, the Food and Drug Administration handled catfish. In May, FSIS blocked catfish shipments from Vietnam and China. In June, an importer recalled Vietnamese catfish products because the shipment had not gone through the inspection process.
In early July, the Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry Quality Center (NAFIQAD) requested all local catfish exporters to the US to have certificates attesting to the fish being free, before being exported on July 15, from salmonella, malachite Green/Leuco Malachite Green, Enrofloxacine/Ciprofloxacine and Crystal Violet.
While NAFIQAD has not commented about the case, test results in July in 18 southern provinces, which are the hub for raising catfish in Viet Nam, said all trafish were free from banned chemicals. — VNS