Brussels, 02/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumer protection published a report on Thursday 2 August from the EU's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) on an FVO mission to Mauritania from 9 to 16 December 2006 (concentrating on the port of Nouadhibou and the Nouakchott fish market) to assess production and EU export conditions for fishery products. The situation has clearly improved since the inspection in 2004 but there are still shortcomings in fishing controls, respect for hygiene rules and penalties for infringement of the rules.
The EU inspectors detected clear improvements in Mauritanian in public health checks on fishery product; the recent adoption of new regulations directly inspired by the EU hygiene package; the recent publication of an updated manual of procedures for inspection and controls (routine inspections and more in-depth surveys, checking product quality and the unloading of catches from small-scale fishing units); the construction of a laboratory at Nouakchott; and complete renovation of the fish market at Nouakchott. The FVO vets also noted continuing shortcomings. Canoes (which provide much of the fishery products exported) are still not always registered or monitored by the local authorities. Several 'listed freezer vessels are very far from complying with EU standards (major structural and hygiene deficiencies)'. Not all establishments meet hygiene standards and establishments and vessels are still included on the list of companies that can sell their products in the EU although the local authorities suspended their activities some time ago. Above all, the inspectors are concerned at the lack of any official plan for monitoring contaminants (heavy metals and dioxins) and the fact that few samples are taken of products and ice for chemical and microbiological checks.
In view of the products exported (fresh products exported on ice by air, fish and cephalopods frozen without any major processing, few species of fish associated with high levels of histidine) and recent progress by Mauritania's authorities 'it is unlikely that the fishery products exported from Mauritania present an immediate and grave risk for the health of European consumers,' note the inspectors. 'However, there is a medium and long-term public health risk as a result of the shortcomings observed during the inspection and, in particular, the absence of monitoring of environmental contaminants in fishery products combined with the large quantities of cephalopods Mauritania exports to the EU'.
According to Eurostat, in 2005 Mauritania exported a total of 25,844 tonnes of fishery products to the EU member states, 57% of which were mollusc and 5% crustaceans. The EU has authorised the import of fishery products from 54 establishments and 103 freezer vessels in Mauritania. (lc)