A food safety expert from the Philippines, who is also a former government official, has raised concerns about the alleged overuse of antibiotics in fisheries products from China, the Manila Bulletin reported on 6 April.
Food security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan’s convenor, Asis Perez, told a virtual briefing earlier this month that overuse of antibiotics in China’s aquaculture sector affects food safety in the Philippines, as the country imports a significant amount of fisheries products from China every year.
Perez is the former director of the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). He was referencing a study published in Marine Environmental Science that found that seafood farms in China have disposed of large quantities of antibiotics into the ocean.
Through data collected from various sites along China’scoastline in recent years, the research team – led by Peking University professor Wen Donghui – found that antibiotics are being accumulated at an alarming rate. They also discovered antibiotics in fish and other marine species, though they said most seafood is safe to eat at present, the South China Morning Post reported on 2 April.
“The unregulated use of antibiotics has affected the development of our country’s mariculture industry and damaged the image of our aquatic products in the international market,” the authors said.
The use of most antibiotics in China’s food production industry is banned.
According to Perez, the Philippines imported fish, mollusks, and aquatic invertebrates, including tilapia and roundscad, worth total PHP 9 billion (USD 185 million, EUR 156.4 million) from China in 2019.
The findings of the study should alarm the government, Perez said. He recommended national food safety authorities act to apply strict policies regarding antibiotic contamination in imported seafood products, for the sake of local consumers.
The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture has a plan to build the country’s first agriculture commodity examination area (ACEA), pending approval from the Philippines Ports Authority.
“If we can’t still have that facility, let’s at least tap third-party testing that will look into fish imports coming from China," Perez said. We are looking at universities as partners as well as private laboratories. We must emphasize that we shouldn’t discriminate in terms of inspection and testing. All imported fish and other food items, for that matter, should be tested for antibiotics and diseases, regardless of their country of origin.”
Photo courtesy of Weiming Xie/Shutterstock
