Japan checks 100 pct of VN shrimp for antibiotics
Print 
Japan Thursday began inspecting 100 percent of Vietnamese shrimp imports for antibiotics after Japanese authorities warned they would increase the rate from 30 percent if one batch was found with antibiotics exceeding safety levels.
This worries Vietnamese exporters about the new difficulties they will face reaching the Japanese market.
From March 7 to June 8, Japanese authorities only inspected 30 percent of shrimp shipments from Vietnam for enrofloxacin residue, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections in the crustaceans.
However, after one batch was found with enrofloxacin levels higher than safety standards, authorities increased the inspeciton rate, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.
With the new ruling, Vietnamese enterprises said they would face more difficulties with the Japanese market.
On November 11, after finding three batches of Vietnamese shrimp containing trifluralin, an herbicide that could cause caner, Japanese authorities decided to increase inspections for the chemical from 30 percent to 100 percent.
