No antibiotics in Vietnam's shrimps: FM Spokeswoman
Spokeswoman for Vietnam's Foreign Ministry Phan Thuy Thanh, on March 21 affirmed that Vietnamese shrimp exports contain no antibiotics.
"Experts have informed us that there is no nitrofuran substance in Vietnamese shrimp exports to the EU," she said.
Ms Thanh was responding to Hanoi-based Reuters correspondent's request for Vietnam's comment on the news that the Food Standards Agency of the UK on March 15 made a call for excluding shrimps of some Asian countries from the list of seafood sold in stores because the agency had found antibiotics in shrimps imported from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh.
Ms. Thanh reaffirmed that "Vietnam's Fisheries Ministry had, since 1999, implemented a programme to check for toxic substances in the country's aquatic produce. "Vietnam has taken a series of effective measures to ensure the hygienic safety of its seafood exports, building up and applying a legal framework concerning this issue. It also issued Decision 01 banning the use of ten antibiotic and chemical substances sometimes used in raising, preserving and processing aquatic produce; this is in line with an EU ban on the same ten toxic substances.
The Prime Minister of Vietnam on February 25, 2002 issued Directive 07 requiring the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Fisheries Ministry not to use antibiotics and other substances that have been banned for use in food by the EU and the US. He also asked the Ministries of Public Health; Science, Technology and Environment; Finance; and provincial People's Committees to co-ordinate with the Ministry of Fisheries and the MARD in preventing the use of such harmful antibiotics in agricultural production and aqua-culture. The Ministry of Public Health is also required to check carefully for the presence of these antibiotics in the pharmaceutical products used by men.
The Fisheries Ministry, for its part, has conducted regular and sporadic checks for antibiotics in seafood. All packages of seafood are examined carefully before being discharged from processing workshops and the checking results are printed clearly on the package". (VNA)
