National quality, safety standards for fish, fishery exports pushed

The National Agricultural and Fishery Council (NAFC), an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA), is pushing for the creation of national quality and safety standards for fish and fishery exports as major export markets like the European Union (EU) are set on imposing more rigid sanitary standards.

NAFC committee on fisheries and aquaculture chairman Enrique T. Carlos said concerned government agencies such as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards should establish one set of standards for fish and fishery products.

"The standards should be equivalent to international standards to ensure consumer protection and facilitate domestic and export trade," said Carlos.

BFAR said it is preparing an action plan to address concerns aired by the EU such as inadequate sanitary conditions of facilities as well as histamine residue levels.

BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento said the action plan will raise the agency’s capability to monitor and supervise exporting firms particularly of units such as the fish inspection and quality control section.

He said the country was allowed to continue exporting fishery and aquaculture products on condition that histamine in scombroid and banned antibiotics in aquaculture products are strictly observed.

Scombroids include tuna and tuna like species, while the banned antibiotics are nitrofurans and chloramphenicol.

Sarmiento said BFAR is targeting to finalize the action plan by June to ensure exports to the EU will not be interrupted with another ban.

Late last year, a group of EU fishery officials inspected 13 local processing plants and canneries and reported inadequacies particularly those concerning Hazard Analysis on Critical Control Point (HACCP) standards.

The EU wants to continue the restrictions on exports of frozen tuna treated with filtered smoke, a continuing inspection of fish ports and landing sites, internal and external calibration of the plants‚ processing and canning equipment, and inspection of accredited freezer vessels.

The EU ban last year also resulted in the reduction of accredited export firms to 30 from 97.

The EU representatives are coming back in June to ensure that Philippine exporting firms are complying with their requirements.