Vietnam Says No to Harmful Antibiotics, Chemicals in Aquaculture

Vietnamese Minister of Fisheries Ta Quang Ngoc has sent his proposal to the Prime Minister on prohibiting imports and use of antibiotics and chemicals containing antibiotics for aquaculture.

 

The minister also asked the government leader to guide relevant ministries and sectors like the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Public Health, and the customs service to keep a closer eye on imports and use of chemicals and antibiotics.

 

The list of the banned chemicals, including fifteen products, must be in line with regulations issued by the Japanese authorities and others.

 

The Ministry of Fisheries (MoF) requested the PM hand out strict penalties to those responsible for the trade of the banned chemicals and antibiotics.

 

The move is aimed to help improve prestige of Vietnamese seafood products on foreign markets after a series of exported shrimp consignments were returned to Vietnam due to detection of high chloramphenicol and antibiotic levels. 

 

Prior to that, the MoF released a dispatch on undertaking urgent measures to control the quality of shrimp exported to Japan and calling on seafood processors and exporters nationwide to refuse to collect shrimp materials from unknown sources.

 

Strict control over input materials is believed to help prevent exporting products with antibiotic residues.

 

In related news, Vietnamese seafood enterprises have so far this year earned US$3.08 million from seafood exports, thereby fulfilling the US$3-billion target set for this year one month earlier, according to the MoF.