A qualitative study on fishery export refusals due to food safety concerns: identification of product handling, corrective actions, risk factors, and risk mitigation

Abstract

Producers are the parties most affected by export rejection due to food safety concerns. This study used a qualitative approach to identify the handling of refused products, corrective actions, risk factors, and mitigations. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed to ask twelve Fishery Processing Units (FPUs) which produce various products, such as shrimp, tuna, cephalopods, crabs, frogs, and other fish from various provinces in Indonesia, as well as four producer associations. The result of the study showed the handling of refused products, comprising reimportation, laboratory analysis, product destruction, re-exportation, sales to the local markets, and conversion into feed, was found to be expensive. The total cost incurred may reach 400 million rupiahs (more or less USD 28,000) for a single rejection. Moreover, those costs did not include investment for corrective actions in improving the production system. Therefore, preventive actions were still proven to be important to prevent greater losses, by identifying risk factors in production steps and formulating mitigation strategies. Bacterial pathogens and contamination by heavy metals and food contact materials were the common risk factors for tuna, shrimp, and cephalopods. Mitigation strategies may include hygienic and rapid production with the application of cold chains to prevent the growth of microbiological hazards and stave off subsequent contamination. In addition to the selection of safe areas for aquaculture and fishing, the use of safe food contact materials and the proper use of antimicrobials were employed as mitigation measures for chemical hazards.