The sharp increase of pepper area along with unscientific cultivation, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides by a part of Vietnamese pepper farmers are causing concern for the Pepper industry, because Many importing markets are warning about the quality of VN pepper and may stop importing if the problem of pesticide residues on pepper is not improved.
Overview of the Workshop on December 9, 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City.
With the spirit of determination and early resolution of problems, Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) together with European Spices Association (ESA), Trade Promotion Department – Ministry of Industry and Trade (VietTrade) had a meeting to discuss in Bonn , Germany, October 2015, developing an action plan.
The first warm-up activity was the Workshop on December 9, 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City on the issue of “Quality control and residues of pesticides for Vietnamese pepper exported”.
It can be said that the Pepper symposium has never had the presence of all the components decisive to the development of the Pepper industry. In addition to the leaders from the European Spices Association, the US and Canada representing thousands of importers of pepper and spices, each year importing about 50% of pepper from Vietnam, there are more than 100 enterprises. exports (including Vietnamese and FDI enterprises), farmers who are producing and trading pepper and representatives of State and local management agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, especially 3 applications. State management agencies directly related to the control of pesticide residues on Pepper are the Department of NLS and Aquatic Product Quality Control (NAFIQUAD), Plant Protection Department (PPD) and Department of Crop Production (PCD) under MARD. .
In the spirit of frank dialogue with US, EU and Canadian importers and a number of import-export companies, it has pointed out the serious properties with the current quality of Vietnamese Pepper and current regulations that would not be soon fixed. restoration will certainly significantly reduce the volume of pepper exported to these markets if Vietnam does not change the organization of its production, management of materials (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides …) for pepper. .
-The EU markets require that pepper be imported into the EU must comply with the following regulations:
(1) With pesticides (Pesticides): The maximum allowable residues must comply with Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, Regulation (EC) No 178/2006, Appendix 1; Regulation (EC) No 149/2008, Appendix 2, 3 and 4.
(The database of pesticides regulated by the European Commission can be found on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/sanco_pesticides/public/index.cfm)
(2) Contaminants: Comply with Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006, with special attention to pepper and spices such as Aflatoxin, Ochratoxin A (OTA), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), Anthraquinone (AQ), Chlorates, Perchlorates and Pyrrolicidinealcaloids (PA);
(3) For Biocide group: The European Commission is considering to harmonize the regulations for the two groups of substances.
There is also a need to refer to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 and Regulation (EC) 669/2009 which provides for increased control of imports with non-animal origin foods.
The seminar gave some urgent solutions to the problem of pesticide residues on pepper as follows:
-The pesticide management agency must definitely eliminate certain chemical pesticides that pepper importing countries do not allow, including the active ingredients such as Carbendazim, Cypermethrin, Metalaxyl …. In the immediate future, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development can do immediately to eliminate these substances on pepper, which is to put pepper into ready-to-eat foods so that it can be applied as tea and vegetables in Circular 34/205 / TT-BNNPTNT. However, at the same time, the Plant Protection Department has to immediately put in the list of fungicides that can be replaced by biological because the disease situation on Pepper is still on the increasing trend;
-The Department of Quality Control of NLS – TS (NAFAQUAD) will regularly update information on the situation of pesticide residues on pepper imported to EU, US and Canada markets (European Spices Association, USA, Canada has Commitment to share information regularly) to give an early warning because the current laboratories of NAFIQUAD can completely identify the most frequently occurring chemicals groups on Vietnam Pepper such as Carbendazim, Cypemethrin. etc …
-The Department of Crop Production will soon complete the GAP process for Pepper in Quarter 1/2016 in the spirit that the process is not too complicated, focusing only on regulations on organic farming, using pesticides. science to ensure food safety;
-Especially, enhance training and raising qualifications for farmers in cultivation and post-harvest storage to ensure clean pepper. In this regard, in addition to promoting agricultural extension training, MARD has issued Circular 51, which issued a Commitment with 10 Criteria for safe production, printing on one side the Commitment Letter, requiring the farmer households to sign. . By doing this, at least 10 million farmers in the country (including pepper farmers growing pepper) will be able to update the fastest knowledge about safe production and hygiene.
– In the long term, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to develop production management processes from farmer households, plan raw material areas so that they can proceed to certify production areas on the basis of which they can build a dossier of recommendations. Origin, traceability, branding, one of the things that the importers attending the workshop always emphasized in the reports presented.
Source Vietnam Pepper Association
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