(vasep.com.vn) Norman Grant, Chairman of the Australian Seafood Importers Association, has praised the quality of Vietnam seafood at a seminar held in Sydney.

(vasep.com.vn) In August 2012, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will continue to work with Japan on the regulation of Ethoxyquin inspection as well as the regulation on maximum residue limits (MRLs) for Ethoxyquin residue in aquatic feed in Vietnam.

(IntraFish) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of illness caused by vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria from several states, and shellfish harvested from Oyster Bay Harbor, in New York state, have been linked to the illnesses.

(vasep.com.vn) To help seafood enterprises to understand more about BAP standards, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in coordination with Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and Trung Khai Corp. held a conference on “Best Aquaculture Practices - BAP” in Can Tho city in June 29th 2012.

(foodnavigator-asia.com) Indian is close to implementing new quality standards for imported foods, the head of India’s top food watchdog has said. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is leading the work towards a new regulatory mechanism to check food items imported to India, Dr K Chandramouli, chairperson at the FSSAI, said this week.

(seafood.com) Chile's National Fishery Service Sernapesca is asking Chilean seafood companies to prepare their operations to follow HACCP guidelines at China's request.

(TheFishSite) Representatives of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) and the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery met in Tokyo, Japan, to discuss lifting temporary restrictions on the import of fish and sea products to Russia from Japan.

(fis.com) Fukushima Prefecture-based octopus and shellfish are finally going on sale at supermarkets in Fukushima this week for the first time since the outbreak of the nuclear disaster in March 2011. The products first passed radioactive tests conducted by the city of Soma’s fishing association and the results and fishing locations were displayed at two supermarkets in Soma operated by York Benimaru, where the seafood was sold.

(IntraFish) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging food distributors, retailers, and food service operators to remove all fresh, frozen, canned, and processed molluscan shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels, and whole and roe-on scallops) from South Korea.

(foodsafetynews.com) In another attempt to calm consumer fears, China released a five-year plan last week to upgrade its food safety regulations.

(Seafood.com) The FDA has just issued an announcement saying all Korean fresh and frozen mussels, oysters, clams, and scallops, along with any product processed or containing them, should be removed from the US market due to concerns over Noro virus. The full FDA announcement is below:

(foodnavigator.com) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has introduced a ‘questionnaire’ to its Reportable Food Registry (RFR) in an effort to improve the programme’s information gathering capabilities.

(Xinhua) A red tide measuring more than 100 square kilometers drifting toward east China's coastline is threatening local fish and aquaculture industries, as it can suffocate marine life, local authorities said.

(IntraFish) After three years in limbo, US organic standards inch forward but are still years away. The US National Organic Program (NOP) is preparing a proposed rule for the production and certification of organic aquaculture products and expects this rulemaking process to take place over the next two years, the group said Monday.

(IntraFish) The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) aims to increase efforts in its core regions to double the market share of MSC certified products within the next five years, the organization said in a newly published five-year strategy plan.