Statement of Andrea Kavanagh, Manager, Marine Aquaculture Campaign, Pew Environment...

Statement of Andrea Kavanagh, Manager, Marine Aquaculture Campaign, Pew
Environment Group, on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Inspecting
Chilean Seafood Facilities

WASHINGTON, April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration's Food Protection Plan, agency officials will inspect five
Chilean seafood plants, starting this Friday, to gather data on chemical use
and to assess Chile's overall controls on its farmed salmon industry.

"The public needs to know what type of tests the Chilean government and its
national fisheries service, Sernapesca, conduct on farmed salmon and how many
samples of Chilean farmed salmon are tested annually. In contrast with Norway
and Scotland, two of the world's largest producers of farmed salmon, Chile has
not been forthcoming with adequate data on the amount of antibiotics,
antifoulants and other chemicals used, mortalities, waste emissions and sea
lice loads.

"Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Protection Plan is
designed to provide 'an integrated strategy for protecting the nation's food
supply,' it should further scrutinize the Chilean salmon farming industry. In
2007, the United States imported 114,320 net tons of salmon from Chile, but
the U.S. FDA only tested 40 samples. To get more accurate data, the FDA needs
a much larger sampling size and should test for a wider range of chemicals and
antibiotics including Emamectin benzoate and Amphenicols.

"It's our hope that the U.S. FDA and the Chilean government will combine their
efforts to provide adequate oversight attention ensuring that Chilean farmed
salmon is safe for the U.S. market and the marine environment."

SOURCE Pew Environment Group

Dave Bard of Pew Environment Group, +1-202-486-4426