US retailers decry catfish safety rule

A trade association representing Wal-Mart and other large retailers in the US voiced opposition to including swai, basa and other Asian whitefish in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) catfish inspections.

In their comments submitted to the USDA, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said they had “significant concerns” that the proposed regulation would reduce supply of imported fish, and drive up prices for retailers and ultimately US consumers.

“œThose offerings would be expected to disappear from store shelves following issuance of a final rule. The lack of available products would be expected to cause instantaneous price increases,” Stephanie Lester, vice president of international trade for the association, was quoted as saying by the Arkansas-based Times Record newspaper.

The retail association also questioned the need for moving catfish regulations from the Food and Drug Administration, which handles other seafood, to the USDA, which is responsible for inspections of meat and poultry.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centres for Disease Control regard catfish as a low risk for carrying salmonella or other food-borne illnesses.

No salmonella cases had been linked to catfish since FDA began its monitoring in 1997, Lester noted.

The USDA has received more than 250 comments over the last 90 days on a proposed regulation that would establish an inspection system for catfish that Congress mandated in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. The public comment period ended last Friday.

A key issue that has yet to be determined is whether the rule will define catfish to a narrow or broad range of fish.

In one case, the definition would mirror the one that Congress established in 2002 for marketing purposes – limiting catfish to members of the ictaluridae family.

It would broaden the definition of catfish to include members of the iluriformes species that would cover basa, swai and other whitefish imported from Viet Nam.

The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers opposes the broader definition and implies that they are prepared to challenge it in court.

The US imported about US$185 million worth of fish from Viet Nam last year that is now marketed as basa, swai and tra, according to the Times Record.

Darden Corporation, which is one of the companies represented by the trade association, said it supported food safety, but argued that it was an “illogical proposal” to spend $30 million to set up a programme for a low-risk food safety threat rather than focusing resources on real threats, Darden Vice president Ana Hooper wrote in a letter to the USDA. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam catfish exports