UK seeks withdrawal of Asian shrimps

UK seeks withdrawal of Asian shrimps

Reuters, London

Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) called on Friday for
some prawns and shrimps from Asia to be withdrawn from shop
shelves, in a widening European campaign against products
containing banned chemicals.

The FSA said tests on warm-water prawns and shrimps from
Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh revealed that
16 out of the 77 samples found unacceptable levels of a banned
antibiotic, nitrofuran.

The chemical is banned from use in the European Union in food-
producing animals because of the risk of causing cancer in
humans.

"Given the possible risk, the Agency is advising against the
consumption of these particular batches of shrimps and prawns. It
is also calling for them to be withdrawn and recalled from sale,"
the FSA said in a statement.

The agency, which said it had alerted the European Commission
to its findings, added that its advice did not concern cold-water
prawns and shrimp products commonly used in the UK.

The companies involved had been advised of the results and
were cooperating.

Earlier on Friday, the Thai government said the Netherlands
had found nitrofuran in shipments of Thai shrimps.

Thailand said it had banned for some years the use of
nitrofurans in food-producing animals and would strictly enforce
its existing laws.

The European Union in January banned imports of shrimps and
some other products from China after finding traces of another
banned antibiotic, chloramphenicol, which can cause anemia in
humans.

The FSA said on Friday the European Commission had agreed to
consider its test results on an EU-wide basis to prevent further
contaminated food entering the 15-nation bloc.

The FSA also said illegal residues of chloramphenicol were
found in samples from China of Royal Jelly, at similar levels to
those recently found in honey.

The British food watchdog said it would not advise against
consumption of Royal Jelly because its scientific advisers said
that any risk to the public was very low, but it called for the
withdrawal of some Royal Jelly products from China, unless they
meet legal requirements.