(foodnavigator.com) Indonesia’s premier food processing authority has come out strongly against a controversial plan that would make halal certification a must for the country’s entire food and beverage supply chain.

(IntraFish) The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program is shifting its focus to mussels after developing certification standards for facilities that raise shrimp, salmon, tilapia, pangasius and channel catfish, according to a GAA report.

(The Saigon Times Daily) Inspection teams of the European Union and the United States are in Vietnam to supervise the quality of agro-aquatic products of local companies with their shipments bound for these two markets.

(Vietnamnet) On August 31, Japanese competent agencies ordered to examine 100 percent of the consignments of shrimp products imported from Vietnam. The Ethoxyquin content must not be higher than 0.01 ppm, while the products which cannot satisfy the strict requirement must be refused.

(vasep.com.vn) All facilities that are required to register must renew their registrations during the period beginning on October 1 and ending on December 31 of each even-numbered year. The first registration renewal cycle will be held from October 1 to December 31, 2012. Registration continues to be free and can be done by the companies themselves.

(fis.com) Thousands of pangasius or tra fish farmers in the Mekong Delta have adopted the Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) standards following the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's (MARD) encouragement.

(seafood.com) Japan has imposed tough restrictions on domestic farming of bluefin tuna as the young ones caught from the ocean for rearing in captivity do not get the chance to lay eggs thereby depleting stock of the high-demand fish.

(IntraFish) Results from a market research survey, sent to IntraFish by the MSC, reveal consumer awareness of the organization’s signature blue label declined by 2 percent over the past two years, from 23 percent in 2010 to 21 percent in 2012.

(foodnavigator.com) Price, taste and brand overrule nutrition labelling when it comes to what makes consumers buy one food and drink product over another, according to fresh research from the European Food Information Council (EUFIC).

(seafood.com) Japan, Russia to sign a bilateral agreement to prevent crab poaching in the Russian waters in September.

(foodnavigator-usa.com) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a report on its activities during 2011, giving a snapshot of the scale of its responsibilities and inspection efforts since the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law in January last year.

(cdph.ca.gov) On August 10, 2012, the California Department of Public Health issued a consumer warning against eating shucked and in-shell raw oysters from Drakes Bay Oyster Co. due to possible contamination with Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium that can cause serious illness. The CDPH advises consumers who purchased the affected oyster products to immediately discard them.

(vasep.com.vn) Thong Thuan Co., Ltd (Thong Thuan Group) harvested the first whiteleg shrimp crop after 3 month-breeding in Phu My commune, Giang Thanh district, Kien Giang province with the productivity of nearly 17 MT per hectare.

(vasep.com.vn) In late April 2012, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) launched ASC standard for farmed-pangasius. The organization also chose Vietnam pangasius industry to kick off its ASC accreditation and certification program for the fish.

(postandcourier.com) Some South Carolina shrimpers are hoping to benefit from a Food and Drug Administration crackdown on farm-raised shrimp and other seafood from China that tests have found to be contaminated with unapproved drugs.