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US may broaden catfish definition
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will gather additional opinions between now and June 24 before issuing a determination of what species constitute "catfish" and must undergo a mandatory inspection programme.
In a press release last Friday, the USDA said the 2008 Farm Bill requires the department to define the term "catfish" for the purposes of this inspection programme.
The USDA said it was considering two potential definitions of "catfish" and was seeking public comment on the issue. One option was the definition in the 2002 Farm Bill, which included all species in the family Ictaluridae. The other option was to define "catfish" as all species in the order Siluriformes, including the families Ictaluridae, Pangsiidae and Clariidae.
The expanded definition of "catfish" would include Viet Nam's tra fish and bring the fish onto the list of species under management of the USDA instead of the US Food and Drug Administration. Currently, tra fish cannot be labelled as catfish when exported to the US.
Industry insiders said the latest move by the USDA aimed to protect the domestic catfish industry in the US and hamper Viet Nam's tra exports.
The USDA has also set forth new requirements that would apply to "catfish" imported into the US, including the requirement that products labelled as "catfish" must bear either a mark of inspection from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) or a mark of inspection from the country of export. The FSIS inspection would focus on factors affecting the safety of the product, such as water quality and feed.
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