Indonesian seafood meets US standards
Sunday, 16 September 2007
JAKARTA, Sept 15 (Xinhua): A team from the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has rated Indonesian seafood as safe for consumption after wrapping up its 10-day inspection of the fishery industry in four provinces, an Indonesian official has said.
"They said that our fishery processing and quality has met the US standards. On a zero to 10 scale, they said we got an eight," Fisheries and Marine Affairs spokesman Saut Hutagalung was quoted Saturday by English daily The Jakarta Post as saying.
The FDA team had checked on fish ponds and processing units in East Java, North Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara and examined several fishery laboratories in Jakarta from last Thursday.
"They advised us on how to improve systems for keeping, processing and checking on our seafood products to enhance their quality," Saut said.
One piece of advice was to apply the "traceable principle" by recording when fish are fed, what is fed to them and where the supplies came from, he said, adding that the US team members offered the ministry assistance in understanding US expectations for the fishing industry.
The ministry data shows that the US is the largest recipient of Indonesian seafood exports with 691 million US dollars in 2006, followed by Japan and the European Union with 630 million and 235 million respectively.
"They said that our fishery processing and quality has met the US standards. On a zero to 10 scale, they said we got an eight," Fisheries and Marine Affairs spokesman Saut Hutagalung was quoted Saturday by English daily The Jakarta Post as saying.
The FDA team had checked on fish ponds and processing units in East Java, North Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara and examined several fishery laboratories in Jakarta from last Thursday.
"They advised us on how to improve systems for keeping, processing and checking on our seafood products to enhance their quality," Saut said.
One piece of advice was to apply the "traceable principle" by recording when fish are fed, what is fed to them and where the supplies came from, he said, adding that the US team members offered the ministry assistance in understanding US expectations for the fishing industry.
The ministry data shows that the US is the largest recipient of Indonesian seafood exports with 691 million US dollars in 2006, followed by Japan and the European Union with 630 million and 235 million respectively.