Soon after the European Union found excess levels of antibiotics in some seafood imports from Vietnam, the country is tightening its rules.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development warned aquaculture companies that they will not renew their export licenses unless they follow safety standards, reported VN Express International.
Earlier this month, the European Commission's Health and Food Safety Department blocked an unnamed Vietnamese firm from exporting goods to the EU after traces of a banned antibiotic were found.
Plus, the Department warned four additional Vietnamese exporters over food safety violations earlier this year. Blocked shipments include catfish from Can Tho Export-Import Seafood JSC for sodium carbonate and Southern Fishery Industries Co Ltd. over sodium erythorbate, canned tuna shipments containing histamine and swordfish from Khang Thong JSC for traces of mercury, according to the newspaper.
The Ministry said that exporters that do not have their licenses renewed will have to undergo full investigations into the charges and will have to pass strict inspections by Vietnam’s National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department.
