Rejected tuna products delivered to various canneries here has significantly declined over the last several months due to the improved fish handling practices by local tuna fishermen.
Domingo Teng, president of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing Associations and Allied Industries, Inc. (SFFAAII), said in a statement tuna products have been enjoying an almost 'near zero' rejection rate from the city's six major tuna canneries.
â€Tuna canneries operating in the city are, in fact, very much satisfied with the high quality of fish landings they have been getting,†Teng said in reaction to recent published reports claiming that local tuna fishing operators were suffering from a 50% rejection rate from the six tuna canneries.
SFFAAII and the United States Agency for International Development-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao program, which has been assisting the tuna industry, branded the information as “inaccurate.â€
Teng said local fish production is now actually more than adequate to meet the volume requirements of the processing establishments in the city.
The city is home to six of the country's eight major tuna canneries. About 80% of its production is exported to the US and the European Union (EU) and rakes in $120 million in export earnings.
Teng said the city's fish landing capability would practically increase with the ongoing expansion of the city fishport complex that supplies the bulk of the raw material requirements of the canneries.
He noted the situation is expected to get better with the implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) in the fishport as part of their move to improve the quality of tuna produced going out of that area.
Last month, at least 33 fresh and frozen tuna processors based in the city participated in the six-day trainors' training on Fish Handling and HACCP at the Philippine Tuna Research and Training Center based in barangay Tambler.
HACCP is a preventive food safety and quality management system that identifies, evaluates and controls the hazards to food.
By next year, the US and EU have required all food exporters to secure Good Manufacturing Practice and HACCP certifications for their food products before they are allowed entry into their markets.
In June 2002, the US Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act, or Public Law No. 1107-118, which requires food exporters to register their manufacturing plants with the US Food and Drug Administration starting December 2003.
Source: Seafood.com