The Thai fisheries industry has given an assurance that despite the recent wave of COVID-19 infections stemming from a shrimp market, frozen seafood remains untainted due to proactive measures and cooperation with the state.
Deputy Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the Fisheries Business and Industry Strategy Committee, Poj Aramwattananon has asserted that industrial factories in COVID-19 hit areas have maintained strict preventative measures, cooperating with state agencies to screen workers and stem any infection.
In the interests of consumers and to boost importer confidence, they have been working with the Ministries of Commerce, Public Health, Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Interior, to secure documentation certifying their export quality and safety since July of last year and have produced a video detailing production processes for the information of foreign buyers.
Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries, Wichan Ingsrisawang has explained that marine creatures cannot transmit COVID-19 to humans. Nevertheless, following the new outbreak, all operators in the seafood value chain have been told to increase screening operations and to regularly disinfect equipment. Certificates are provided to growers, fishers, transporters and markets that are able to comply with all measures, with 56 factories receiving the documentation so far.
The Thai Frozen Foods Association has similarly sought to bolster confidence by assuring buyers that all of its members comply with state regulations, in particular rules concerned with screening the sector’s workforce of over 20,000 laborers. (NNT)
