Chinese inspectors to check Norwegian salmon

Flag of ChinaFlag of China. Photo Wikipedia

In March, inspectors from China will visit Norway to inspect Norwegian salmon fisheries. The hope is that China’s exclusion of whole filleted salmon can be lifted.

 

In 2015, Chinese food authorities stopped imports of such salmon from Troms, Nordland and Sør-Trøndelag after they found ILA viruses in salmon from these three counties.

ILA virus accounts for an infectious salmon anemia, it is a very serious viral disease that only attacks salmon. There is no treatment for it. Fish that are infected usually die within a short period of time.

The exclusion from China can only be terminated after inspections in Norway. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority therefore invited the Chinese for inspection in January and they have been notified that they are coming.

“We are very pleased that they are coming. We hope the inspections result in all plants without ILA and PD being able to export fish to China,” says Malin Florvåg, Head of Division in the Food Safety Authority.

In addition to inspections, the Chinese inspectors will gain insight into Norwegian fish farming and how the Food Safety Authority oversees the industry.

“China is also big at fish farming, but their farming is very different from ours. The visit gives us the opportunity to show how we resolve it,” says Florvåg.

The Chinese inspectors arrive on March 7th and will be here for a week.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today