Spanish food safe body denies poison in Vietnam’s catfish

The central food security watchdog of Spain has denied the existence of any crisis relation to the imports of Vietnam’s tra and basa catfish into the country and attributed the misinterpretations to the “false information” provided by the European Commission (EC).

Tests of the batches of catfish imported from Vietnam through Vigo and Bilbal seaports last July have shown no poisonous substances which are banned by the EC, said Roberto Sabrido, President of the Spanish Agency of Food Security and Nutrition, at a press briefing at a gastronomy and tourism exposition in Ourense recently.

Late last month, Spain’s Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs also confirmed that Vietnamese catfish meet food safety regulations set by the Europe Union (EU) and pose no harm at all to customers’ health.

Spain is one of the largest markets in Europe for Vietnamese catfish. Statistics from Spanish Marine Aquaculture Producers Association (APROMAR) indicated that the country imports about 40,000 tonnes of Vietnamese catfish every year.

VietNamNet/VNA

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