Norwegians warned over salmon standards

I read this article from the Moscow News about how some laboratory test have shown high levels of Salmonella and Coliform bacteria in Norwegian farmed salmon.

Read this interesting article for yourself.....

Norwegians warned over salmon standards

by Alina Lobzina at 07/02/2012

A potential fish deficit is looming for seafood lovers as the Russia’s food monitoring agency has found a new health threat to the nation.   

Norwegian salmon might disappear from Russian supermarket shelves as the “dangerous produce” doesn’t meet the Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus Custom Union’s standards, according to the Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Monitoring Service, or Rosselkhoznadzor.

And despite the fact that Russian manufacturers are ready to offer some replacement fish products, the amount they are able to supply is significantly less that current imports from the north European state.

Failed tests

Laboratory tests found salmonella and other coliform bacteria, according to a warning that the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, Yevgeny Nepoklonov, sent to the director general of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Harald Gjein. And infected fish has continued to flow into Russia, despite guarantees given by officials, the letter read.

Imports of Norwegian salmon to Russia have been gradually growing, and in 2011 the country became the biggest importer of fish from Norway, buying about 10 percent of its exports, Gazeta.ru reported.

Last year, the supply of just one kind of Norwegian salmon to Russia amounted to about 104,000 tons worth 401 million euros, according to the Norwegian fishing authorities.

Local trout insufficient

Trout artificially bred in Russia and red salmon could become a suitable substitute for Norwegian produce, the president of the Pollock Fishermen Association, German Zverev, believes. But the total harvest of these aquatic bio-resources is no more than 65,000 tons, which is not enough to meet the salmon consumption in the country.

“In big cities and large retail chains, Norwegian fish fills a considerable amount of supplies, and finding a replacement wouldn’t be that easy,” Agavan Mikhayelyan, director general at Finekspertiza told Gazeta.ru. The only hope is that Rosselkhoznadzor will ban salmon from certain producers, and not the whole country, he said.

Registering importing contracts would be a more efficient way of monitoring fish quality than any bans, Zverev told Gazeta.ru.