Fruit Production in the U.S.: There are not enough licenses!
28/03/2015
The fruit exporters to the United States said it was having trouble with the Law modernize food safety (FSMA) effective from the beginning of 2011, making the import, distribution and consumption in the United States face many difficult, although it has made adequate provisions on food imports and import licensed under the provisions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dragon fruit to the U.S. are having difficulty. Artwork: Thai Hang
Enterprise suffered concrete
Speaking at a seminar on "Agricultural exports to the United States: Understanding barriers
technical and food safety laws revised, "said Mai Xuan Thin, Director of exports Red Dragon Company Limited, specializing in the export business of fruit, said businesses are in medium condition goods has throbbing worry for their orders.
Start dragon fruit exports since 2009, the Red Dragon has exported 67 containers of dragon fruit by sea, not including air. Export pretty smoothly, until recently the agency has raised U.S. import inspection frequency, sampling dragon Vietnam to 100%. As a result, companies are exporting to halt worrying about the fate of their shipments.
Mr. Thin said container being consecutive 3 Pharmaceutical Management Agency and the U.S. Food (FDA) to test retain residues of plant protection products.
"The first container was kept in 4 days, 7 days lost container 2nd, 3rd container was detained two days, the U.S. does not detect the new" drop "for sale now," he said.
It is worth mentioning here is that the U.S. authorities had licensed although dragon, rambutan from Vietnam to the U.S., but has yet to announce targets residues of plant protection products (Maximum Residue Limits - MRLs) allowed.
"MRL dragon allowed to sell in the U.S. does not have a specific level, which means that if discovery of fungicide or pesticide shall have the right to cancel this shipment. This greatly affects the exporters, "Thin said.
Comes with it's time shipments detained at the gate to check before clearance is very very long, while the U.S. fruit after 7 days have sold out, if not just sugar ... discarded because no quality assurance.
According to a U.S. importer of the said company Red Dragon by the American Laboratory overloaded when applying this new law, causing many fruit shipments were halted for checks must wait.
In some cases, businesses are not as lucky as his company Dragon, on the sidelines of the conference, a business that has been damaged several containers of dragon fruit, worth about $ 600 million / container, was discovered by function amount of plant protection in shipment. In this case, forced to cancel the shipment.
New technical barriers?
According to an expert at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, if previously dragon and other fruits exported to the U.S. just to check epidemic, but now a new U.S. law requires safety checks products. "This dragon due to U.S. export increase, this could be a technical fence," he said.
According to the Department of Plant Protection, if in 2009 only 100 tons of irradiated dragon prescribed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. made it to 2010 is estimated at 856 tons and 1,300 tons this year.
And Mr. Nguyen Tu Cuong, former Director General of the quality management of agro-forestry and fishery (Nafiqad) said that every country wants to put regulations, it must first perform a risk assessment, risk. This assessment should be based on evidence and scientific arguments have caused harm to human health or not?
"Therefore, the United States unilaterally impose regulations that are worth mentioning, especially after Vietnam fruit undergoes a lot of processes and strict cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a long time to be able to step into this market, "he said.
As the case of Vietnam dragon fruit, It took 4 years to meet the manufacturing process, the irradiation of America, 2008 New shipment of dragon fruit to the U.S. first.
According to Matthew Lantz, an expert on trade policy tropical USAID Project STAR Plus, is not present in the list of U.S. MRL data is not only the issue of Vietnam dragon fruit, but fruits tropical litchi, imports from other countries are also encountered.
"Besides, the target residues are not" shared "between the different kinds of fruit," he said Lantz.
He also suggested that Vietnam's agricultural agencies working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make regulations early, to avoid damage to the business.
Up to the present time, there were dragon fruit and rambutan fruit and some other Vietnam as litchi, longan, mango breast milk and is also conducting the process in order to reach the U.S. market in the future .
Law modernize food safety (Food Safety Modernization Act - FSMA) is the "version" of the latest Federal Law on Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of the United States (FDCA) takes effect in 1938, allowing administration of the U.S. food and Drug administration (FDA) for further intervention products imported into the U.S., in the case of Vietnam's fruits, agricultural products and seafood. Therefore FSMA is the U.S. exporting countries to assess potentially cause difficulties for their goods. Law by President Obama issued on 4 -1-2011.
The importance of the law change modernizing law Food Safety (FSMA) than before:
- Application of the method to check the port and is facing overcrowding when the volume of imports increased.
- The importer is responsible for ensuring that foreign suppliers have taken full advantage of preventive control measures. Especially the food requirements must be imported from abroad such as food safety in the country.
- The main problem of the FSMA increasing number of factory inspections, strengthening the system recordkeeping and traceability, especially with fruits and vegetables. Having conducted a food facility registration and will be expanded, more frequent re-registration, additional information is needed.