ISLAMABAD, April 1: The European Union has imposed 100 per cent checks on import of frozen fish products from Pakistan following detection of a contaminated consignment of shrimps at Rotterdam recently, sources in the Ministry of Food told Dawn.

The incident rang alarm bells in the government quarters particularly the ministries of commerce and food as China, Vietnam and Indonesia lost significantly the EU market on same grounds, i.e., high level of chloramphenicol in the fish products.

In a prompt response, the Export Development Fund (EDF) meeting here last week decided to make available Rs3.5 million to the Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) immediately for the purchase of latest laboratory and equipment before Pakistan lost seafood export market, an official at the Ministry of Commerce said when contacted.

In view of the serious high risk to Pakistani exports, the MFD has separately taken up another project for upgrading the testing and inspection facilities. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) is awaiting submission of the project for immediate approval, the ministry sources added.

In a consignment of frozen shrimps exported by Spectrum Fisheries, an EU approved processing plant, a high level of chloramphenicol (0.1 mg/kg) has been detected at Rotterdam. The health authorities of the importing country took serious action by implementing strict measure of the European Commission’s procedures to prevent import of contaminated seafood products and imposed 100 per cent check on consignments of frozen shrimps.

The use of chloramphenicol is banned in fishery products and its presence is considered very serious as contaminated seafood has toxic manifestations on human health. This is for the first time that a consignment from Pakistan contained chloramphenicol and infect its test was not a mandatory requirement before it was reported by the EU authorities.

“Pakistan’s seafood export is at stake unless the European Union authorities were guaranteed/assured that the incoming consignments are free from this antibiotic,” the EDF meeting was informed.

The meeting was told that MFD was the only regulatory agency for issuance of quality, origin and health certificate to the EU and other countries and in view of the serious situation it was necessary that latest facilities for rapid test be made available to cater for the emergent need of tests for export to the sophisticated markets of competence, sources added.

With the sanction of Rs3.5 million, latest equipment like gas liquid chromatography, high-powered centrifuge, standards and chemicals, rapid test kits, British pharmacopoeia, EU recommended manuals and air conditioners, official sources said.

The government has been informed through the diplomatic channels that Pakistan has now been placed in list one and it would be very embarrassing if recurrence of this antibiotic is detected in the consignments.