Food Exported to EU Subject to Strict Residue Level Inspections

The Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden, concurrently with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Latvia, recently advised Vietnamese enterprises to pay attention to Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) in rice exported to the European Union (EU) because the EU, especially Norway, is strengthening inspection of imported rice, including that from Vietnam.

Plant and animal-originated products will be randomly sampled for testing, including oranges, apples, bananas, kiwis, grapefruits, onions, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, beans, chili, rice, poultry fat, cow's milk and eggs.

Notably, Vietnam’s rice exported to the Nordic market will be checked most. Hexaconazole and Tricyclazole substances often exceed the threshold in the disqualified product.

Currently, not only the EU but even non-EU Nordic countries such as Norway and Iceland have also stepped up inspection programs under this regulation.

In addition to checks at the border gate, food safety agencies will take samples of old shipments for inspection (imported from early 2021). If MRL exceeds the given level, importers and distributors are required to announce a broad recall in the mass media.

By Huong Ly, Vietnam Business Forum