Imported Fish Tested

[mrmoshe]

Aint you glad we catch our own...

Imported fish tested

SEAFOOD imported into Australia will be tested for a range of antibiotics.

The tetst are being conducted after low levels of some banned substances were found in produce entering the country from Asia.

Recent tests conducted on seafood imports found residues of antibiotics not allowed in Australian seafood, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Peter McGauran said yesterday.

"While the residues detected were at low levels and did not represent a food safety issue, the survey showed that some imported seafood did not comply with Australia's rigorous standards,'' he said.

"The additional testing will give consumers even greater confidence that imported seafood meets the high standards required of Australian seafood industries.''

In June the US Food and Drug Administration imposed rigorous testing on Chinese farm-raised seafood - including prawns, basa and eel - after finding produce was repeatedly contaminated with banned antibiotics.

Every shipment from China must be tested at the border by suppliers to prove it is antibiotic-free.

The Australian Government introduced random testing of five per cent of imports in 2001.

But Labor has been pushing for more widespread testing covering a greater range of chemicals and antibiotics.

It is understood the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service surveyed 100 samples of imported fish, crabs, eels and prawns for chemical residues from April 2006 to March 2007.

The samples were screened against 39 antimicrobial and 49 pesticide compounds.

There were no pesticide residues detected but 14 antimicrobial chemicals were detected at low levels.

The chemicals belong to the sulphonamides, tetracyclines, malachite green, penicillin, quinolones, fluoroquinolones and phenicols antimicrobial chemical groups.

The seafood found to contain antimicrobial residues was from China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Opposition primary industries, fisheries and forestry spokesman Kerry O'Brien said the Government must reveal the full details of the strengthened testing regime and condemned the Government's "delayed response'' to the issue.

[roosterman]

Aint you glad we catch our own...

Imported fish tested

SEAFOOD imported into Australia will be tested for a range of antibiotics.

The tetst are being conducted after low levels of some banned substances were found in produce entering the country from Asia.

Recent tests conducted on seafood imports found residues of antibiotics not allowed in Australian seafood, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Peter McGauran said yesterday.

"While the residues detected were at low levels and did not represent a food safety issue, the survey showed that some imported seafood did not comply with Australia's rigorous standards,'' he said.

"The additional testing will give consumers even greater confidence that imported seafood meets the high standards required of Australian seafood industries.''

In June the US Food and Drug Administration imposed rigorous testing on Chinese farm-raised seafood - including prawns, basa and eel - after finding produce was repeatedly contaminated with banned antibiotics.

Every shipment from China must be tested at the border by suppliers to prove it is antibiotic-free.

The Australian Government introduced random testing of five per cent of imports in 2001.

But Labor has been pushing for more widespread testing covering a greater range of chemicals and antibiotics.

It is understood the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service surveyed 100 samples of imported fish, crabs, eels and prawns for chemical residues from April 2006 to March 2007.

The samples were screened against 39 antimicrobial and 49 pesticide compounds.

There were no pesticide residues detected but 14 antimicrobial chemicals were detected at low levels.

The chemicals belong to the sulphonamides, tetracyclines, malachite green, penicillin, quinolones, fluoroquinolones and phenicols antimicrobial chemical groups.

The seafood found to contain antimicrobial residues was from China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Opposition primary industries, fisheries and forestry spokesman Kerry O'Brien said the Government must reveal the full details of the strengthened testing regime and condemned the Government's "delayed response'' to the issue.

great info there pete,

was it not the best thing since sliced bread the day they made shops label country of origin .... i schooled my wife years ago on not buying marinated and pre battered fish as its usually low quality and ?? what is it... my mate warned me about fish from vietnam etc that was farmed in putrid river then shipped cheaply to our shores... only able to be cleared by using chemicals etc.... usually labelled basa/catfish,etc... very tastless so big candidate for battered/marinated fish in shops...... you cannot go past our great aussie product .. or the slops that dont get shipped straight os that is ...

Edited August 3, 2007 by roosterman

[mrmoshe]

great info there pete,

was it not the best thing since sliced bread the day they made shops label country of origin .... i schooled my wife years ago on not buying marinated and pre battered fish as its usually low quality and ?? what is it... my mate warned me about fish from vietnam etc that was farmed in putrid river then shipped cheaply to our shores... only able to be cleared by using chemicals etc.... usually labelled basa/catfish,etc... very tastless so big candidate for battered/marinated fish in shops...... you cannot go past our great aussie product .. or the slops that dont get shipped straight os that is ...

Here's another article in today's Australian. A long read but some good info in there.

Fish bans raise poison risk

THE protection of Australia's fisheries is pushing seafood imports to record levels, driving overfishing in other countries and exposing consumers to unacceptable levels of antibiotics and other contaminants.

Marine biologist Walter Starck said Australians were being forced to consume lower quality seafood imports, many from seriously depleted fisheries, even though Australia had a relative abundance in some species that was being underutilised.

Dr Starck's warning comes amid increasing concerns about contamination of imported seafood products.

Federal Fisheries Minister Peter McGauran revealed this week that tests conducted by Australia's quarantine watchdog had found small residues of banned antibiotics in one-third of the samples of prawns, fish, crabs and eels from China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Amid fears that contaminated seafood could generate a new breed of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, the federal Government has promised to strengthen the testing of imported produce.

But it has agreed only to add more antibiotics to the list of substances that are tested, rather than increase the actual amount of testing of imported fish. Just 5per cent of seafood imported to Australia will be checked for banned antibiotics and pesticides, despite the test findings.

Consumer concerns about the imported seafood follow recent revelations about dangerous substances in imports of manufactured goods.

Toymaker Mattel recalled 24 Fisher-Price character toys this week after they were found to contain potentially harmful levels of lead in the surface paint applied during the manufacturing process in China. And two brands of Chinese blankets were recalled nationally last month after they were found to contain high levels of carcinogenic chemicals.

About 70 per cent of Australia's annual seafood consumption is imported after a long-running program of cutting the national fishing fleet.

About one-third of commercial fishermen handed their licences back last year after a buyback cut 550 permits from the nation's 1600 commercial fishing licences.

Australian fisheries are widely regarded as well managed, with the buyback considered necessary to ensure the fishing industry is sustainable.

But Dr Starck said while certain species were clearly endangered and needed to be tightly protected, the current scale of regulation in Australian fisheries was focused on the unqualified conservation of marine environments rather than the sustainable management of fish stocks.

He said it was now costing taxpayers $100,000 each year to manage each boat in the national fleet, even though Australia had the largest fishery per capita in the world. "The idea that our fisheries are in danger of overfishing as a blanket statement is ridiculous," he said.

"If we want to import all of our fish, we can do that and that is basically what we are doing. If we applied the same rules to our agriculture and grazing, we'd have to close them down."

Australia imported $1.03 billion worth of edible fish and seafood in 2005-06 -- up from $905million in 2003-04. The fastest growth was in products from Vietnam and China, which with Thailand now account for more than half of total seafood imports.

Despite the recent discovery of antibiotics in imported seafood, Mr McGauran has moved to assure people of its safety. He said while the residues detected were at low levels and did not represent a food safety issue, there would be extra testing to give consumers greater confidence in supplies.

In June, the US Food and Drug Administration imposed increased testing on Chinese farm-raised seafood -- including prawns, basa (Vietnamese catfish) and eels -- after finding produce repeatedly contaminated with banned antibiotics.

The Australian Government introduced random testing of 5per cent of imports in 2001. But Labor has been pushing for more widespread testing, covering a greater range of chemicals and antibiotics.

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service surveyed 100 samples of imported fish, crabs, eels and prawns for chemical residues from April last year to March this year.

The samples were screened against 39 antimicrobial and 49 pesticide compounds. There were no pesticide residues detected but 14 antimicrobial chemicals were detected at low levels. The chemicals belong to the sulphonamides, tetracyclines, malachite green, penicillin, quinolones, fluoroquinolones and phenicols antimicrobial chemical groups.

The National Health and Medical Research Council is investigating the issue of microbial resistance, but will not report for several months.

Peter Collignon, director of microbiology and infectious diseases at the Australian National University medical school, said the test results were worrying.

"What this means is antibiotics were used in the production of those fish or prawns. That means superbugs can develop and they can remain on the animal and come across to people and cause problems," he told ABC Radio.

Of the 20 fish retailers contacted by The Weekend Australian yesterday, none believed strengthened testing measures would benefit Australia's seafood industry.

All food imported and sold locally must be labelled with its country of origin, but consumer group Choice yesterday questioned whether the rule on labelling was being properly policed. Choice recommended that if people were worried about their safety, they should ask where the seafood had come from.

Antibiotics can be used in production but all traces should be gone by the time the seafood is harvested for market.

AQIS spokesman Carson Creagh said the test results released by the minister this week had been passed on to Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the national Health and Medical Research Council for expert advice.

The Australian fishing industry blames an unfair playing field, including tight government regulation, for forcing local producers to charge more for their safe, wild-caught seafood while competitors intensively farm fish in other countries.

The use of antibiotics overseas was a concern, but many consumers could not afford higher prices for local fish.

"The quality of the product going out of the country is strictly monitored but the product coming in is not so carefully watched," Western Australia's Fishing Industry Council chief executive Graeme Stewart said yesterday.

But Harry Peters, the president of the Australian Seafood Industry Import Association, said imported produce was subject to rigorous testing. He said Australia did not have a problem with contaminated imported seafood: "Australia has always had a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to ensuring our imported seafood isn't affected."

China is struggling to contain fears that some of its exporters have cut corners, making their products unsafe.

A recent report by China's Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine claims more than 99 per cent of Chinese food exports met all criteria. But the Government is responding to fears about the other 1 per cent -- especially because of fast-growing anxiety within China about food and drug safety.

The minister in charge of food safety, Li Changjiang, said China was "addressing the fundamental causes" behind the range of problems with exports, which have included toothpaste containing antifreeze and snack foods with salmonella.

He admitted that US complaints about farmed fish and shellfish containing banned antibiotics were correct, and that in some cases seafood had even been exported as antibiotics -- which the fish contained -- to evade inspection.

Additional reporting: Rowan Callick, Matthew Warren