“All the samples smelled bad and had an aftertaste.” This is how the Israeli Food Safety Authority, which is under the Ministry of Health, described a batch of salmon from a Norwegian exporter. It was caught in autumn 2021, and was sold as frozen fillets in the country. Reactions to Israeli supermarkets news has gained access to the correspondence between the Israeli authorities and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. The inspectorate was notified of disturbing findings at the beginning of January 2022: In addition to the stench and the aftertaste, the salmon also had open wounds, black spots, was pale and discolored. The authorities sent the first batch of salmon back to Norway in early 2022. A few months later, there were also complaints about Norwegian salmon from customers at Israeli supermarkets. The Israeli Ministry of Health concluded that the salmon was of such poor quality that it was forbidden to sell it. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority was sent documentation and photos of the findings. Analyzes in Norway confirmed that the Israeli authorities were right that our quality was poor. The picture shows the documentation that the Israeli authorities sent over to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Israeli authorities believed the fish could not be sold. Several countries have complained. Fish of this quality is called production fish, which is the lowest quality level of Norwegian salmon. It is forbidden to sell it abroad unless it has been processed. Several countries have complained about Norwegian salmon, according to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. They ran a survey they call a campaign. The inspectorate investigated 49 businesses and found 11 cases of production fish being sent out of the country despite the ban. This is shown in a report from the inspectorate that news has seen. This was salmon sold as fillet with skin and whole fish. – The background for the campaign was that we had received some feedback both from countries and actors in Norway that production fish was being sent out of the country, says Elisabeth Wilmann, director of the department for legal and international work at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. – Which countries have complained about this? – No, it’s a little different. It is Israel that has complained, and then there have been some EU countries that have received consignments of production fish. They have mostly had it processed themselves, but that is also not allowed, she says. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority traveled to Israel Israel is a very important market for the Norwegian fishing industry. Twice a week a 747 cargo plane goes between Norway and Israel fully loaded with Norwegian fish. This has made Israel the largest market for Norwegian salmon in the Middle East. The market is growing strongly with customers willing to pay, and is Norway’s fifth largest market outside Europe. When the Israeli authorities approached the Norwegian Food Safety Authority with their concerns, it was taken very seriously. In the first response to Israel, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority wrote that the external damage to the fish was probably due to winter sores. Fish with such wounds must always be processed in Norway before export, out of consideration for the salmon’s reputation in the export market. But the quality problems continued. news has seen documentation of several batches of salmon that have been withdrawn from the Israeli market. The salmon is from various locations, producers and exporters. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority traveled to Israel last year. Wilmann says that the quality problems were not the reason for the visit, but questions were raised about the export of low-quality fish. – The purpose of that trip was not production fish at all, but durability. Then it is always important to discuss with other countries that we follow a set of regulations, what kind of set of regulations we have, and assure them that they are getting fish of good quality and that is safe, says Wilmann. The Norwegian Seafood Council points out that the return of fish is a matter between buyer and seller. – On a general basis, we can say that Norwegian salmon built up a very strong position. It is a sought-after item in many markets due to its high quality, among other things. Therefore, it could also be unfortunate with such cases, which we know that the companies work hard to avoid. This is what communications director Martin Skaug writes in an e-mail to news.
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