Manufacture of can of mussels. (Photo: Anfaco)

France has doubts about Galician mussel





SPAIN


Friday, October 24, 2014, 03:10 (GMT + 9)

The French Government is suspicious of food safety on the native Galician mussel but has not yet specified the reasons behind the poisoning experienced by more than fifty people in Marseille two months ago.

To date, the French authorities have not responded to the report sent by the Galician government, or requested a meeting to address the issue.

The alert was last updated on 1 October, the newspaper El Pais reported.

A few days after posting the notice through the computer network Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Union, the Spanish Agency for Food Consuming, Safety and Nutrition (AECOSAN) requested a bilateral meeting to clarify the poisoning episode. But the Ministry of Health has not yet received a reply from France.

After becoming aware of the alert, Spain quickly sent a report on the origin of the shipment of mussels prepared by the Technological Institute for the Control of the Marine Environment of Galicia (INTECMAR).

Galicia authorities emphasize that despite all possible explanations, no response from France has been received.

And meanwhile, the industry is still waiting for an explanation through the Secretariat of Marine Affairs.

Despite the warning, the Government of Galicia ensures that the mussel sales to France remain constant.

Apart from this issue with France, the red tide has been added and it has forced the closure in Galicia of almost 90 per cent of the polygons and 40 per cent of centres for other molluscs, such as cockles and clams.

In the latest report released by the Galician government it is outlined that 22 of the 75 raft polygons are still closed, mostly in the estuaries of Vigo and Pontevedra.

For her part, the Secretary of Marine Affairs, Rosa Quintana, stressed that “there have been no new data” to show that the mussels that made France renew the food safety alert have come from Galicia.

“In this no new update has been made,” she clarified, and emphasized that in Galicia work is being carried out “with absolute control and traceability assurance,” the agency Europa Press reported.

“All we want is that France becomes aware of the fact,” stressed Quintana.

Related article:

Galician Mussel consider reporting France for ‘ill-founded’ alert

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  ANFACO-CECOPESCA – Asociacion Nacional de Fabricantes de Conservas de Pescados y Mariscos-

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