Leading shrimp exporter Guolian is one of 15 Chinese seafood exporters to have made the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “Green List” of firms whose products are excluded from Detention without Physical Examination (DWPE) on arrival in the United States.
An FDA alert that revealed the firms on the “Green List” called attention to the ongoing discovery of contamination of seafood shipments from China with carcinogenic anti-bacterials like malachite green.
Most of the firms on the Green List are from the southerly province of Guangdong, long a hub of aquaculture but also listed are several firms from Fujian province which has in many ways been eclipsing Guangdong in seafood production and export.
Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products Co., Ltd is one of several Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province-based firms on the list. Another is major player Zhanjiang Evergreen. Also on the list are Allied Pacific Aquatic Products (Zhanjiang) Co., Ltd., as well as Asian Seafoods (Zhanjiang) Co., Ltd. A single firm from Dalian, Allied Pacific Food Co., is listed, while Fujian Dongwei and Fuqing Chaohui Aquatic Food Co. are among five firms from Fujian Province that made the list.
Being named to the list is a big advantage to firms, as product shipped by those not on the list faces potential impoundment in the U.S. until certified by a third-party laboratory.
According to the FDA, “Districts may detain, without physical examination, all shipments of aquacultured shrimp, dace, and eel from the People's Republic of China, except for the firms identified in the Green List.”
The FDA recommends that both eel and shrimp from China be tested for residues of malachite green, fluoroquinolones, nitrofurans, and gentian violet.
