Vietnam has tightened controls on ethoxyquin in feed production for the seafood industry, in an effort to avoid a negative reaction from the European Union.
Ethoxyquin, a preservative, will be banned from feed and feed materials for all animals beginning 1 April, according to an E.U. ruling put in place in 2017. The ban was created due to fears the additive might cause a risk to humans, animal health, and the environment.
Most countries set maximum residue limits of ethoxyquin in seafood products, but still allow it in small amounts. The E.U. rule is different from those of Japan, South Korea and the United States – the major destinations for Vietnamese seafood products – all of which have set permissible limits of the substance in finished seafood products.
According to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam has received reminders about the ruling from importers in E.U.
The General Department of Fisheries sent a letter on 11 December to inform the governments of seafood-producing provinces, VASEP, and feed producers themselves of the new requirements.
Through 31 March, the department and provincial authorities will conduct inspections to determine the scale of the use of ethoxyquin in feed production, Vietnam News Agency reported 14 January, citing General Department of Fisheries Director Tran Dinh Luan.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development earlier this month held a meeting on the issue with relevant agencies and feed producers, during which VASEP called on the ministry to ask the E.U. consider allowing the use of ethoxyquin in feed materials within limits.
VASEP said it has taken 152 samples of raw shrimp for feed production to test for ethoxyquin. Of those, 83 did not to meet the standards of the upcoming E.U. regulation on ethoxyquin, or 55 percent of the samples taken.
The companies from which the samples were taken said they had not added ethoxyquin in the feed production process and that the substance had been detected in fishmeal imported from Peru and Chile for feed production. The companies cited by VASEP said it will not be easy to get fishmeal suppliers to cease mixing ethoxyquin in their products, as it is both effective and commonly used to slow the development of rancidity of fats.
But the size of the European market will require Vietnam’s seafood industry to push harder to remove ethoxyquin from their products. The E.U. was the largest export market of Vietnamese shrimp in 2019, with a value of USD 696.2 million (EUR 624.5 million), though that total was down 16.9 percent year-on-year. And the E.U. imported about USD 227 million (EUR 203.6 million) worth of pangasius from Vietnam in 2019, making it the third-largest market for Vietnamese pangasius exporters, according to VASEP.
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