Cambodia will invite the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG-SANTE) to conduct an audit of the fisheries’ subsector. A successful audit will result in the Kingdom’s registration as a potential source of fisheries imports to the EU, according to CaPFish report.
The Fisheries Administration (FiA) and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) held a May 17 consultation workshop on “Private Sector Compliance and Official Control: A Roadmap Towards the DG SANTE audit”.
UNIDO national food safety expert Thong Ra described how the Cambodia Programme for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in the Fisheries Sector: Capture component (CaPFish Capture), which is co-funded by the EU, has been running for more than three years.
EU officials from Brussels will evaluate Cambodia early next year to see if it will earn the right to export into the EU.
“We are establishing a food safety system to meet the future needs of the EU market,” said Ra.
The overall objective of the CaPFish programme is to contribute to socio-economic development, food security and poverty reduction in Cambodia.
The project was initiated to contribute to the development of the post-harvest fisheries sector through upgrading regulatory and institutional systems and by adopting better practices and innovation by the private sector.
“One of the expected outcomes of the project is compliance with EU food safety requirements, and the inclusion of Cambodia as a country which can export fish and fisheries products to EU markets,” said the report.
To reach this status, the FiA – in collaboration with the relevant government agencies – needs to implement control systems that ensure the safety and integrity of fishery products and ingredients throughout the production chain.
