EU to inspect VN seafood exporters

The European Union (EU)’s delegation will come to Việt Nam in June to inspect the country’s food safety control system for seafood products exported to the EU. — Photo baocongthuong

HÀ NỘI — The European Union (EU) will send a delegation to Việt Nam in June to inspect the country’s food safety control system for seafood products exported to the EU.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that during the visit, scheduled from June 20 to 29, the delegation will inspect all steps involved with food safety in seafood production and business chains, including fishing vessels, fishing ports, aquaculture facilities, wholesale markets, and purchasing, pre-processing, preservation and processing facilities.

This will involve the legal system, and the organisational structure and ability of authorities who control seafood production chain from initial phases of production to final phase - export to the EU, such as the National Agro, Forestry, Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad), the Directorate of Fisheries, the Department of Animal Health, and the provincial agriculture and rural development departments.

Additionally, the delegation will assess the State offices’ implementation of commitments and recommendations made by the EU delegation during the 2012 inspection, and its solutions for batches of Vietnamese seafood that received warning from the EU from 2015 to date, reported baohaiquan.vn.

Nafiqad director Nguyễn Như Tiệp said the EU is one of the major export markets for Vietnamese seafood products. The results of the inspection will have a direct impact on seafood production and business of many enterprises, and the country’s seafood export value to the EU as well as to other countries.

Maintaining the reputation and quality of Vietnamese seafood products in the EU market is of utmost importance even for other countries to accept Vietnamese seafood products and open their markets for them, Tiệp said.

Tiệp advised that those who will be inspected should make careful preparations as per the requirements of the inspection delegation and provide sufficient and accurate information to them.

Enterprises that process and export seafood products to the EU must resolve issues related to food safety and quality that were found by Nafiqad, inspect food safety conditions of their material suppliers, and archive information about the material.