Processing shrimps for export at a plant in Ca Mau (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) recently issued a decision on tighteningthe control of disease safety and food safety for shrimp and shrimp productsexported to Australia.
Specifically, businesses have to takemeasures to control risks of white spot and yellow head diseases in material shrimpbefore processing.
For processed shrimp, businesses shouldsend samples of each batch to laboratories appointed by the MARD for diseasetests.
Certificates of qualified batches should besubmitted to the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department(Nafiqad) for food safety checks in line with Australia’s regulations.
The Nafiqad is also responsible for issuingcertificates to each batch of export goods.
The MARD assigns the department to guidebusinesses in how to implement the procedures.
In addition, exporters and processors haveto ensure the origin tracking dossier of each batch.
On January 7, the Australian Department ofAgriculture and Natural Resources announced the suspension of prawn anduncooked shelled shrimp imports from Asian nations, including Vietnam, in fearof white spot disease outbreaks in Australia. The ban took effect on January 9and lasts for six months.
In June, the department lifted the ban.
Last year, Vietnam exported 114.6 millionUSD worth of shrimp products to Australia, of which processed shrimp made up 78percent of the total.-VNA
VNA
