Vietnam lifts tests on Japanese food

The ministry asked the veterinary, plants protection and agro-forestry, aquaculture product quality management departments and divisions to apply normal checking procedures on Japanese food imports in line with current Vietnamese regulations.

The decision was made based on results from radioactivity tests on Japanese food imports conducted by the veterinary and plants protection departments, as well as those carried out by Japanese partners in recent months.

Testing had been put in place following the Fukushima nuclear meltdown which blighted much of Japan in March 2011.

On April 11, 2013 the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) asked the ministry to consider the necessity of applying radioactivity tests on frozen aquatic materials imported from Japan for processing and export to a third country.

According to the association, the test cessation will help local seafood processing enterprises increase competitiveness and reduce costs.