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Officials firm on irradiation ban of contaminated meat
Animal health authorities on Wednesday flatly rejected complaints by meat importers, saying no changes will be made to the regulation that prohibits irradiation of tainted or spoilt imported meat for human consumption.
“It is unacceptable that sterilizing of low-quality meat for being sold as food is allowed,” said Bui Quang Anh, head of the Department of Animal Health, who chaired a meeting Wednesday in HCMC with more than 50 meat importers in the southern region.
Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of the Animal Health Agency Zone No. VI, said all imported meat from August 20 onwards have to be tested by animal health agencies before they are transported out of international ports.
The products that fail to pass the inspections would have to be sent back, destroyed or used to make animal feed.
Products that pass will also undergo strict inspections by local animal health agencies when they are stored in freezers by the importers, he said.
Until now, most imported meat found contaminated with bacteria had been irradiated as a sterilizing measure before being sold as food.
However, several studies found the quality of meat could not be retained thus, leading to the new regulations banning irradiation of tainted meat.
Several importers on Wednesday sharply criticized the regulation, saying they would have to quit the business if the regulation was not annulled.
“Banning irradiation of meat is a groundless regulation,” a representative of the Huong Viet Company said. “Meat is produced following hygienic processes, like in the US, and is of much better quality than domestic meat.”
Other enterprises said prices of pork could increase to as much as VND100,000 (US$5.84) per kilogram if it were not for imports.
A representative of GENERALIMEX said chicken prices could have gone up to VND60,000 ($3.50) per kilogram from the current VND30,000-VND40,000 per kilogram without imports.
However, animal health agencies later rejected all the importers’ complaints.
Anh said other countries allowed irradiation of food to maintain quality, not for processing tainted food.
In related news, relevant agencies on Wednesday cleared a batch of imported chicken of the Ha Long Canned Foods Company at the Big C Supermarket on To Hien Thanh Street in Disrict 10 that had been sealed on July 27.
However, the local animal health agency is still inspecting more than 10 tons of pork of the company that carried only Chinese language on the packaging.
Inspectors check imported meat at a store of the Vinafood Corporation in Ho Chi Minh City. Animal health agencies have said bacteria-contaminated food imported to Vietnam from August 20 will no longer be allowed to be irradiated to be sold as food.
Quang Thuan
thanhnien
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