(vasep.com.vn) The article “Asian Seafood Raised on Pig Feces Approved for U.S. Consumers” may mislead shrimp customers about Vietnam shrimp industry
In October 11th 2012, Bloomberg BusinessWeek – a prestigious business magazine in the world – published “Asian Seafood Raised on Pig Feces Approved for U.S. Consumers” article (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-11/asian-seafood-raised-on-pig-feces-approved-for-u-dot-s-dot-consumers ) written by Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen (uyen1@bloomberg.net) and William Bi (wbi@bloomberg.net). By describing shrimp processing of a small exporting and trading enterprise which no longer exports shrimp products to the U.S, the article painted a far worse picture on the quality of Vietnam shrimp exported to the U.S. The viewpoint of the article may mislead shrimp customers about Vietnam shrimp industry.
After reading the article, on behalf of Vietnam seafood enterprise community and Vietnam shrimp industry, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) sent a letter to the article’s writers and asked them to deny the content of the article. Besides, VASEP also provided the writers of Bloomberg with exact and unbiased information on current conditions of Vietnam shrimp producing, processing, exporting and the improving quality of shrimp products originated from Vietnam.
Shrimp is an export item fetching the highest earnings for Vietnam seafood industry. Vietnam shrimp is shipped to almost 90 countries and territories with annual export turnover of US$2 billion. Majority of shrimp processing plants in Vietnam comply with international standards and create hundreds of thousands of jobs and stable income for local people.
The U.S. is the second largest importer of Vietnam shrimp after Japan with annual export value to the market of over US$500 million, occupying nearly one-quarter of total shrimp exports nationwide. Vietnam shrimp facilities are inspected twice a year and well-evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Shrimp facilities of Vietnam are certified as safe by international certification organizations and abide by the strict measures of food safety control from material purchasing to processing, preserving and exporting. Thanks to ensuring food safety and premium quality compared to shrimp products of other origins, Vietnam shrimp exported to the U.S. reported continuous growth for the past many years.
Only by visiting a small company, the writers of the article concluded that Vietnam shrimp, a large amount of which is exported to the U.S, is dirty and contaminated with bacteria. This viewpoint on Vietnam shrimp industry is so biased and mistaken. The article may satisfy the U.S domestic shrimpers and the U.S. government in protecting its shrimp sector and curb shrimp importing in the wake of the U.S. financial crisis. However, the action is against the spirit of free trade and fairness.
Vietnam shrimp maybe is badly affected by the article and the U.S. market may limit importing shrimp from Vietnam, shrimp enterprises in Vietnam will retain our positive image and ceaselessly improve shrimp quality to keep exporting to other markets.
In October 11th 2012, Ubcomtell.com posted video (Bloomberg hit piece on imported seafood misses huge improvements made in China, Vietnam) denying the article’s information. In the video, John Sackton, editor and publisher of Seafood.com News said that the article only mentions to the facts of a small company and cannot reflect comprehensively seafood quality of Vietnam. In fact, the quality of Vietnam seafood exported to the U.S. has improved remarkably. According to Safety Alerts on food imported to the U.S. by FDA, seafood consignments exported to the U.S. from Vietnam and China were rejected to approve for customs clearance reduced by 57 percent compared to the same period of last year while total rejections to the U.S. only reduced 11 percent.
John Sackton said that the article may make American consumers misunderstand about the quality of imported shrimp. The viewpoint of the article supports for domestic shrimp producers in the U.S. because their profit has been affected by imported shrimp. He stressed that data on seafood consignments of Vietnam and China rejected by FDA proved that the Vietnam seafood quality is being improved remarkably.