One Dutch shrimp importer is calling for governments to crack down on overglazing, but regulators are so far disinterested.
As long as there is no authority in place to regulate the practice of shrimp overglazing, the market will continue to short-weight its products, Andre Buijs, managing director at Dutch firm Affish, told IntraFish.
"European governments and authorities should look at this because they are the ones who can change things," he said.
His comments came in response to a recent IntraFisharticle on rampant shrimp overglazing in the European Union (EU), after a study found about 50 percent of frozen shrimp imported to Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands are short-weighted.
Buijs has no expectations the industry itself will take steps toward stricter rules. With increasing competition, importers have started taking measures to drive down prices -- and short-weighing products is one convenient way to do it.
"The product is more or less the same; it's always the same quality," he said, adding price is the only way to outrival each other.
Even though it is illegal to not indicate overglazing on the package, "some companies don't care, they just care about the price," he said. "It's pretty well-known throughout the market."
Affish was listed with one positive example in the study, conducted by Belgafood, the association of Belgian food importers, but Buijs said he can't explain why it had tested positive.
With Affish's mother company, UK-based multinational company Camellia, listed on the London Stock Exchange, "we're not allowed to cheat on the pack," Buijs said.
"We're always honest and I don't see any reason whynot to be honest," he said. "But not many competitors do it the same way."
Mistakes, however, can happen from the supply side,which is why Affish takes samples before shipping and upon arrival of the products.
He heavily criticized EU regulations and rules on food imports, saying "if a comma is wrong in your documents" products are rejected.
"So why don't check the label and the quantity indicated on a package?" he said. "That's much more important than a comma."
Organizations such as the Dutch Association of Importers of Fish (VIV) and the Seafood Importers & Processors Alliance (SIPA) are lobbying in Brussels, asking the EU to move forward on the issue, and finally get out of the "grey area" shrimp overglazing has inhibited for far too long.
At the time of publication of the IntraFisharticle, Olivier Hottlet, president at Belgafood, said the practice is known to the European Commission, however, it doesn't intend to take action.
"As long as there is no control from authorities this problem will go on," Buijs said.