Seafood Safety in Vietnam Rachel McKie, Anne Balch, Alex Fulham

Vietnamese Seafood Exports Shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid and octopus are main seafood products exported by the country Vietnam is the world’s 3rd largest exporter of fish fillets 4th largest exporter of crustaceans Fishery sector is accounted for 4-5 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and about 9-10% of national export revenue in Vietnam Exports to the U.S, Japan, EU, China and South Korea make up about 75% of Vietnam’s seafood sales across the globe Vietnam ships 100 million pounds of shrimp a year to the U.S., which accounts for about 8% of the shrimp sold in America. VFA established in 1999

Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6N2SX51d7w This clip not only explains why Vietnamese water is so dirty, but portrays how this dirty water has a direct impact on Vietnamese seafood that are raised to be exported

Vietnamese Seafood Issues In 2010: Only 60 percent of the Vietnam’s seafood processing factories were able to meet global standards of hygiene and seafood safety regulations, which limited the potential of the market. Since January 2011: the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) reports 18 cases where residues of veterinary medicinal products were found in imports of fish and fish products, half of these cases (9) involve fish imports from Vietnam. 2012: Vietnam fish factories, mainly on the southern coast, were found to have flies crawling over all the baskets of shrimp and later packed in ice that had not been boiled prior to freezing. The Vietnamese Health Ministry claims that the water needs to be boiled first because it is contaminated with bacteria and unfit for human consumption.

Problems with Vietnamese Seafood Seafood fraud Relabeling of exports to avoid high tariffs and anti-dumping duties US is unsure where on the supply chain this fraud takes place (ie boat, fish farm, other places) In 2010, Thomas George, the former Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Seafood Corporation, was sentenced to 22 months in prison for importing falsely labeled fish from Vietnam and evading over $60 million in federal tariffs This triggered investigations and furthered interest in the Asian seafood industry The Vietnamese seafood industry, especially the shrimp industry, still does not use reliable farming processes to prevent diseases and ensure quality. Currently, farmers use large amounts of antibiotics in order to save sick shrimp ponds. This could cause problems if export consignments contain antibiotic residue higher than what is permitted in the EU or U.S. Seafood exports from Vietnam continue to fall short of basic of food safety minimum standards.

Consumption Vietnam’s Ministry of Health reported more than 1,000 food poisoning incidents from 2004 to 2009, killing 298 people. The ministry said chemical contamination of food is a growing problem that is difficult to control. Researchers at a North Carolina chemical engineering firm and North Carolina State University-- found unnatural levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, from fish imported from Vietnam and sold in nearby US supermarkets.

Why This Affects the Rest of the World Most Vietnamese seafood export enterprises are having difficulties understanding the food hygiene and environmental requirements. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 40 million people become infected each year from trematode parasites.

What is Being Done? 2008: The Southern Shrimp Alliance and the Catfish Farmers of America provided funding for an initiative by AOAC International to develop rapid tests. 2010 : A new food safety law passed. Last Year, the Obama administration created the Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud.

Recommendations for Governmental Policies Website with the records of businesses involved in unsafe food incidents. Educate seafood importers on risks of buying seafood from Vietnam Government subsidies for proper education and hygiene resources Seafood traceability

Sources https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/vnm/ http://seafood.vasep.com.vn/660/whybuy/export-potentials.htm http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbrinkley/2015/04/07/think-youre-eating-tuna-think-again/ http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/CriminalInvestigations/ucm220519.htm http://cip.cornell.edu/DPubS/Repository/1.0/Disseminate?view=body&id=pdf_1&handle=dns.gfs/1265385755 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/us/catfish-farmers-seeking-regulation-to-fight-foreign-competition-face-higher-bills.html http://www.triplepundit.com/special/making-business-case-seafood-traceability/ http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/formaldehyde-detected-in-supermarket-fish-imported-from-asia/#.VS3f6xPF84Q http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-10-11/asian-seafood-raised-on-pig-feces-approved-for-u-s-consumers