Norwegian exporters of fresh salmon face new packaging and labeling requirements from customs authorities in Shanghai, China.
Fresh salmon imported into China must now be packed in an inner and an outer package, with inner packaging labeled in English and Chinese. Likewise, the original health certificate must be handed over to Chinese authorities within three days of the exported product arriving in China, according to importers shipping fresh Norwegian salmon through Shanghai’s Pudong Airport, according to interviews by local Chinese media.
The rules don’t appear to have been formally published in Chinese, according to Norwegian Seafood Council China Director Andreas Thorud, but he said the new food safety standards appear to have already gone into effect.
“We are aware of these reports from Shanghai for new requirements pertaining to fresh salmon,” Thorud told SeafoodSource.
An update posted on the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s website on September, in Norwegian, provides some basic information on how Norwegian exporters can comply with the new rules, but much is still unknown about both the rule and its potential impacts, Thorud said.
“To what extent this will impact Norwegian exporters remains to be seen, however, Norwegian exporters are processing this information,” Thorud said. “I think it is also important to point out, as the Norwegian Food Safety Authority states in their update, that there exists so far no official information on this topic.”
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