US FDA Cracks Down On Yellowfin Imports ff

By Atuna.com

Thirty-four shipments of tuna products were not allowed into the U.S. in September because they appeared to fail American food and safety standards, and more than half were exported from Thailand, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Most of it concerned imports of frozen raw yellowfin steaks and loins. The intensified inspection follows a recent outbreak of salmonella in saku tuna produced by Moon Fisheries in Cochin and imported in the USA from India, which led to 425 reports of people becoming sick.

Last month, 18 shipments from Thailand were refused entry, while 14 from Indonesia, two from South Korea and one from the Philippines were also denied at the border.

All the problematic exports from Thailand appeared to “consist in whole or in part of a filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or be otherwise unfit for food.”

The manufacturer Ggc Twn. Co., located in Phuket Thailand, sent nine shipments of frozen yellowfin tuna, processed either as ground meat, “saku” (sushi grade), or loins. The FDA conducted a sample analysis of one shipment – frozen yellowfin tuna ground meat AA. 

Thai Ocean Venture, another company in Phuket Thailand, sent nine shipments of frozen tuna saku, steaks and loins that were rejected. Out of the nine incidents, a FDA sample analysis was conducted for only one shipment (frozen tuna steak 6 oz.).

Ten tuna deliveries – consisting of frozen yellowfin tuna steaks, loins and saku – from the Indonesian company, P.T. Fresh on Time Seafood, were also found to “consist in whole or in part of a filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or be otherwise unfit for food.” The FDA examined a sample from 850 cartons of 6 oz. frozen yellowfin tuna steaks.

Meanwhile, PT Bandar Nelayan, a manufacturer in Bali, Indonesia, sent four shipments of frozen albacore steaks of various sizes – ranging from 2-6 oz. – that appeared to contain salmonella. All four were analyzed by a private laboratory, while the FDA sampled one shipment.

From the Philippines, one shipment of “frozen raw yellowfin tuna 6 oz. steaks,” from Phil-Union Frozen Foods, was denied at the border. The products appeared to “consist in whole or in part of a filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or be otherwise unfit for food.”

Two shipments of canned tuna products from South Korea’s Ottogi SF Corporation were also refused. The company’s “canned light tuna in sauce – Ottogi red pepper tuna” and “canned light tuna in oil 150 g” appeared to have been “prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions.”

The FDA is authorized to detain a product at the border that appears to violate the national Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. If the owner fails to submit evidence that shows the product is in compliance or fails to submit a plan to bring the product up to standard, the product then must be exported or destroyed within 90 days.