Competing international Classification and Certification-Systems “swamp” the Mekong Delta trying to establish ”Controlled Quality”

“Bio” Certificate for a Vegetarian Fish

The fish is fed with vegetarian products like rice bran and soybean meal. But still there seem to be a need for classification. The target is to have a more white fish and less dark colored animal, chemical free, strictly sustainable and environmental friendly farmed. International classification- and certification-bodies coming from Europe, like the "Naturland" Group from Germany and the German Technological Cooperation Agency (GTZ), try now even to make a “Bio”-Pangasius setting their standards.

Pangasius is a vegetarian fish – the best expertise for a seafood product nowadays. But still some “bio” groups think they must make a good thing better with their standards

Some 200 tons of so-called “Bio Pangasius” is already sold in Germany and Switzerland following “Naturland” and Swiss Certifications. These standards brought to the market are quite questionable as they only refer to select farming situations and are based on Salmon and Trout Aquaculture experiences simply transferred into Pangasius farming.

So i.e. one of the requirements in these “Bio” certified farms is a low density of fish in the ponds, that is a little bit absurd, as the Catfish likes high densities by nature – but the expertise of these certification bodies come from salmon farming. Also homemade feed is a standard – the pelleted feed available in Vietnam is far better in quality than the wet feed. But still the Bio-Certification fell in love with the farmer grinding his own fish-feed from rice bran and soybean meal or small catches from the Mekong.

Another Certification-Agency trying to make a better Pangasius is "EUREGAP" – a system that is regarded by retailing groups in Germany and Switzerland but also other European countries. Eurogap try to suit the farming after these retailer standards. EUREPGAP, founded in 1997 at the initiative of retailers belonging to the Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group (EUREP), works to develop widely accepted standards for global certifications of good aquaculture practice (GAP). The standards, to be applied in 2007, will not be overly complicated, said Philippe Serene to Vietnam, News Agency, General Director of “Aqua Service Vietnam”, consultant for EUREPGAP, but it will take time to apply these standards to the scattered Vietnamese aquaculture industry.

“Aqua Service Vietnam” formulated an outline two years ago of the quality standards for Pangasius based on EUREPGAP standards. Serene also said that a five-year plan should be devised for implementing the standards here in Viet Nam.

EUREPGAP recently held two conferences in Vietnam to spread information about the new standards, with assistance from the German Organization for Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and the Swiss retail group Co-Op Mart. EUREGAP plans additional such meetings in September and October.

SQ 100 is a standard by the US based retail Auditing and Quality Control Body SGS. The SGS people have started their farm program with the help of An Giang Farmers, the biggest farming area in Vietnam for Pangasius where also "EUREGAP" and "Naturland" also try to set foot.



Processors are the most competent

There are also Standards from the leading processors like Agifish that created a farmers group growing “Pure” Pangasius without the use of any chemicals in farming. Also competitor Afiex (“Natural” Pangasius) and Nam Viet, the market leader with the highest output in volume started “better” or even “clean” Pangasius projects with their farmers.

Only the processors can establish standards successfully. They must advise the farms what to do, what feed to use and how to handle the fish that it becomes a successful, sellable export product. They should educate their own suppliers in the farm.

As the processors have the say when it comes to farming and a lot of them had been major farming operations before – like i.e. Nam Viet – the projects of the processors seems to be the most successful for future standardization.

The need of standards is requested by international Supermarket chains that ask for a full traceable chain from egg to plate and innovated the Vietnamese Pangasius industry to come up with workable and reliable concepts in this respect.

Since then the different agency fight for the right way – everyone using their connections to the market to make the farmer go where they think it is right. The processors place their own systems against it, as they are the ones who are finally the partners of the overseas customers from the supermarkets from Europe or the US.

Wal-Mart, the biggest supermarket chain in the world from the US, already visited An Giang and stated that they would take big amounts of Pangasius, if there would be only a reliable and workable standard offered by the supplying industry.

This offer from the US retail-tycoons triggered a chain of internal conferences and meetings and efforts of all kind of certification bodies who now compete fiercely about to find the “right” way for classifying the fish.

What will become “Top Quality Pangasius”?
The brand for the Pangasius is already set. About two years ago the Ministry of Fisheries of Vietnam and the Vasep (Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers) hosted a branding conference in the Mekong capital of Pangasius farming in Long Xuyen. There they set “Top Quality Pangasius from Vietnam” as the Top brand to be used in worldwide promotion. So now the “Top-Quality” in Pangasius only has to be defined. This seems to be a much harder task than naming a brand for it.
Namely as most of the Vietnamese Pangasius farms are family run – the An Giang Farmers Cooperation, up to now the biggest in Vietnam – has 800 members already. To bring them behind competing technological standards will be not easy to fulfill.
Namely as every certification body also has strong financial interests in selling their system to the farmers. Some even claim as much as 2% of the sold product as a “certification fee”. If this levy will and can be accepted by the farmers and processors remains questionable. Namely as the processors decide from what source they buy the fish – will it be from different farms with multiple certifications they have to pay for?
All the standards now sold to the farmers, as “the only right one” by competing agencies will be as hard to judge as the standardization itself. What is successfully placed as “Top Quality Pangasius from Vietnam” and if it will be called “Bio”, “Natural” “Clean”, “Pure” or using “EUREGAP”, “SQ” “Naturland” – whatever systems, will finally be decided by the processor and by his customer abroad.
ACC, IFS, BRC or “Bio”? The Retailers Choice.
It has to be taken into account that not all standards are accepted everywhere in the world. Many large seafood retailers internationally trust in Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC) standards for seafood products and require seafood suppliers to have ACC certification. ACC is a US non-governmental organization giving certification for environmental and food safety standards at aquaculture facilities throughout the world.
If the products made from Pangasius will be accepted and labeled the right way is finally the decision of the major supermarket chains. So it is well advised for the processors to imply the standards of these multinational chains instead of following regional preferences.
Other believe in the most used European and Global Supermarket Standard, the so called IFS & BRC (International Food Standard & British Retail Consortium), which is only a monitoring system, looking out and certifying if there are basic Quality Systems established in the whole farming and processing line (like HACCP and others) must be proven if selling product to any retail chain in Europe.

In 2002, in order to create a common food safety standard, German food retailers from the HDE (Hauptverband des Deutschen Einzelhandels) have developed a common audit standard called International Food Standard or IFS. In 2003, French food retailers (and wholesalers) from the FCD (Fédération des entreprises du Commerce et de la Distribution) have joined the IFS Working Group and have contributed to development of IFS. It has been designed as a uniform tool to ensure food safety and to monitor the quality level of producers of retailer branded food products. The standard applies all steps of the processing of foods subsequent to their agricultural production
To monitor only one enterprise for this IFS & BRC Certificate cost some 10.000 USD, which are not refundable and must be regularly re-done.
Up to now there is not even a unified specification agreed upon or in sight of the different color-shades that come in Pangasius, from snow-white to white, to light pink, to pink, to light yellow, to yellow. No system can be found in Vietnam like it has been established already decades ago with the La Roche-Fan for Color-Definition in Farmed Salmon.
And the Pangasius color-definition from snow white (top quality) down to the deep yellow means a difference of up to 30% in price.
So there is a long and stony way to go ahead before there will be a Vietnamese, let alone worldwide-agreed standard established for Pangasius…

by Herby Neubacher

 

 

 

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