Food safety management of imported fishery products in Thailand: Antibiotic standards and case study of enrofloxacin contamination in imported Pangasius catfish

Abstract

© 2018 Universiti Putra Malaysia. The aim of this study was to assess food safety management of fishery products imported into Thailand and identify lessons learned and key challenges based on observation, in-depth interviews, and data review from involved Thai government authorities. In addition, enrofloxacin antibiotic residues in imported Pangasius catfish were also investigated and analyzed by extraction process and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Results revealed that there were many key challenges that involved government authorities of Thailand, and stakeholders must pay serious attention to the need for improvement. The key challenges suggested in this study were that the specific import documents of Thailand should be revised; many on-site test kits should be developed for real-life application so as to reduce cost and time; and food regulations should be updated and clarified, especially in terms of antibiotic contamination in food, for more efficient management. Moreover, no efficient traceability system is currently established in Thailand, resulting in difficult operation and management of a practical food monitoring system. Consequently, if no new measures or appropriate management procedures are developed to cope with these issues, it is possible that fishery products contaminated with various concentration levels of hazardous substances might be increasingly imported into Thailand in the future. The results showed that 14 out of 90 imported Pangasius catfish samples collected from around Thailand were contaminated with Enrofloxacin in the concentration range of 6.4-11.3 μg/kg, indicating that some contaminated fishery products were widespread in domestic markets, and legally so due to lack of regulation.