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UAE says Vietnam’s catfish safe, resumes import
Vietnam’s tra and basa fish are free of contamination and safe for consumption in the United Arab Emirates market, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) said recently after conducting tests on the fish.
The authority’s public relations and communication manager Mohammed Jalal Al Rayaisa said the UAE has removed the ban on imports of the Vietnamese catfish after laboratory tests showed their to be free of any harmful substances and fit for human consumption.
The authority had suspended the selling of Vietnamese fish in the Emirates in March after some Internet reports alleged that the fish were farmed in water treated with Malachite Green, a carcinogenic chemical.
The ADFCA will continue to monitor the consumption of tra and basa fish in the UAE market.
The UAE imported US$6.5 million worth of seafood from Vietnam in the first quarter of this year, according to online newspaper VietNamNet.
Unfounded allegations that Vietnamese fish contain harmful substances also hurt Vietnam’s exports to Spain earlier this year.
The European country’s food safety watchdog also conducted tests and confirmed that the fish do not contain any substance banned by the European Commission.
Exports of tra and basa fish reached more than $1.4 billion last year, accounting for 32.2 percent of Vietnam’s total seafood exports.
Minh Quang
thanhnien
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