Dung, Tran Thi

Aquatic Commons

246 Advances in Fish Processing Technology in Southeast Asia in Relation to Quality Management and
Workshop on Compilation o f Fish Products in Southeast Asia
Quality Management of Fishery Products in Vietnam : 
Advancing Towards Integration With the 
Regional Countries and the World
TRAN THI DUNG
Department of Science and Technology 
Ministry of Fisheries, Hanoi, Vietnam
Introduction
Vietnamese economy is undergoing the 
process of doi mo i ; all over the country 
industrialisation and modernisation is taking place 
in order to achieve economic wealth, to build a 
society based on justice.
For more than 20 years Vietnam carried 
out post-war rehabilitation and rebuilding under the 
wise and capable guidance of the Vietnamese 
Communist Party and the intelligence, creativity 
and hard labour of the Vietnamese people, as well 
as with the aid of countries in the region and from 
other parts of the world. As a result of this 
accelerated rate of growth of the Vietnamese economy, 
Vietnam now enjoys harmony with countries in the 
region and around the World.
Fisheries has been identified as one of the 
important economic sectors for development and 
growth. Fish processing has contributed towards 
increasing the export of Vietnamese fisheries 
products and the income of fisheries workers. It is 
also the main animal protein source for most of 
our people. In order to develop further and to 
benefit the fishery sector and the national 
economy, the technology of fisheries processing 
must be upgraded and the quality management 
methods must be improved to meet the stringent 
requirements of customers from around the world 
as well as in the country.
Present status of fishery processing 
activities in Vietnam
Since 1977, when the firs t seafood 
products were exported, seafood processing in 
Vietnam has increased continuously in quantity as 
well as in value. Since then, the export value 
of fisheries products has risen 49 times. This 
sector is now ranked fourth in export value and is the 
fastest sector in the Vietnamese economy.
Seafood sold consist of shrim ps, 
cephalopods, fish, oyster, crab and products of 
various mollusc and seaweed. Most of exported 
seafood products have undergone minimum 
processing. Because of the small value-added 
component, Vietnamese seafood products in the 
world’s market are bringing in lower benefits to
seafood processing companies.
Recently, although the processing 
establishments have made efforts to increase the 
diversity of seafood products and upgraded their 
production facilities and technology level, the 
product structure is still monotonous and cannot 
meet the demands of the world market. The major 
products are frozen, comprising 87-89% in quantity 
and 78-82% in value of total exports, of which frozen 
shrimp makes up 58-60% in quantity and 68-73% in 
value. The fish and mollusc products have increased 
in recent years, but their proportion is still low. The 
value-added products occupy only of 6-7% of export 
value.
The main custom ers of Vietnamese 
seafood are com panies which reprocess and 
repackage with their trade label. These products 
are then re-exported. For example the products 
exported from Vietnam to Hongkong are usually 
re-exported to Japan.
Vietnam has yet to learn to deal with new 
and better clients. Although the processing plants may 
not completely meet the hygienic standards, seafood 
product quality is still accepted by clients who buy 
them for reprocessing.
However, it recognised that if the 
Vietnamese seafood industry wants to enlarge its 
market and raise the value of its products, it 
should step up the management and monitoring of 
seafood quality. It should invest in facilities and 
technology to upgrade production conditions and 
ensure high hygiene standards, in order to meet 
the requirements of the main clients in the world’s 
market, where the products are sold directly to 
consumers.
At most processing plants, immediately 
after their establishment, there is a product quality 
control section consisting of 5-10 persons; most of 
them are trained in universities or colleges, or by 
the Quality Control Center (QCC), or in training 
courses on quality control organised by FAO.
There is a quality control laboratory in 
many plants, but most of them are not well- 
equipped and they only assess the quality of raw 
materials or products by sensory methods. When 
needed, they must ask accredited quality control 
institutions to inspect their products and issue the
Research Paper: Dung 247
health certificate for export.
Faced with the practical requirement that 
there should be an office with jurisdiction to 
control and issue seafood products with health 
certificate, in 1983 the Export Aquatic Product 
Quality Control Center (QCC) was established. It 
belongs to the Ministry of Fisheries and is charged 
with the responsibility of sending cadres into plants 
to inspect their processing methodology, production 
technology and hygiene conditions and to take 
samples for the purpose of controlling product 
quality before issuing export seafood products with 
health certificate. The w ater sam ples from 
processing plants are also periodically tested in 
laboratories. But in practice its main office was in 
Seaprodex’s building and its activities are related 
closely with this organisation. QCC has 
laboratories in Haiphong, Danang, Ho Chi Minh 
City, but most of their equipment are backward.
There are many laboratories providing 
seafood products with health certificates. These 
laboratories belong to different ministries; for 
example: Regional Centre for Standardisation 
M etrology and Quality (SM Q), V inacontrol, 
Center of Hygiene & Epidem iology, Pasteur 
Institute, Seaspimex, Food Control Center, Animal 
Q uarantine Center and others. The chaotic 
situation in the control and issue o f such 
certificates has com plicated the quality 
management program. This may have resulted in 
the erosion of the quality of Vietnamese seafood in 
recent years, leading to a drop in the average price 
of our exports.
In order to enhance the prestige of 
Vietnamese seafood products on the international 
market, the Ministry of Fisheries established the 
National Fishery Inspection Quality Assurance 
Center (NAFIQACEN). NAFIQACEN is 
responsible to the Minister of Fisheries to organise 
activities on inspection, to issue establishments 
with hygiene and assurance certificates, to control 
export of seafood products and to issue health 
certificates in accordance w ith state and 
international requirements. The NAFIQACEN 
headquarters is in Hanoi, w ith branches in 
Haiphong, Danang, Nhatrang, Ho Chi Minh City 
and Camau. Besides NAFIQACEN, the Fishery 
R esources Conservation D epartm ent and its 
branches, which are responsible for controlling 
diseases and quality of fishes, as well as inputs of 
aquaculture, also take part in the control and issue 
live fishes with health certificates.
Instead of quality management by control 
only of product quality and issue of certificate 
before exporting, nowadays quality management is 
extended and this consists of the quality management 
from culture, catch, handling and transport of raw 
material as well as processing, store and transport of
export products.
Projects supported by international 
organisations such as UNIDO, DANIDA have 
helped Vietnamese fisheries train specialists in 
quality control of seafood products, educate the 
m anagers, processors and inspectors on new 
knowledge of quality m anagem ent, equip 
NAFIQACEN branches with appropriate 
laboratories and train and guide processors in 
their application of GMP and HACCP in 
processing plants in the country.
Because of the pressure o f m arket 
competition and quality requirements, processors 
are rushing to obtain aid from  the project 
US/VIE/93/058 and NAFIQACEN to upgrade 
production facilities and upgrade technology in 
seafood processing. This is especially so in plants 
which want to export their products to the EU. 
Currently there are no Vietnamese plant that can meet 
com pletely the requirem ents o f D irective 
91/493/EEC dated July 22, 1991 of the Council of 
the European Communities. The number of plants 
permitted temporarily to export their products into 
the EU m arket is only 58%. That is why 
upgrading production facilities of seafood plants 
must be continued system atically in order to 
produce the products which can meet the hygiene 
assurance requirements of all markets in the near 
future.
Although NAFIQACEN was established 
only two years ago, it has contributed significantly 
to im provem ents in the quality  o f seafood 
exported. The average export price of Vietnamese 
seafood products was US$5.58/kg in the first 10 
months of 1995, an increase of 30.1% over the 
annual average price of the year 1994.
Problems facing the seafood product 
processing industry
Although the quality  m anagem ent 
program of seafood products is a success, the 
Vietnamese seafood processing industry still faces 
the following problems:
-  Fluctuations in the supply of raw materials, 
insufficient and unstable supplies resulting in 
excessive competition between fish processing 
establishments. Because they lack experience, 
some processors buy raw materials which do 
not meet quality requirements, therefore resulting 
in low quality products.
-  In processing plants the technology must be 
upgraded, the lay-out of production lines must 
be rearranged, advanced methods of quality 
m anagem ent must be im plem ented so that 
they respond to hygiene assurance 
requirements for seafood products.
-  The fishing vessels, fishing ports, the
248 Advances in Fish Processing Technology in Southeast Asia in Relation to Quality Management and
Workshop on Compilation o f Fish Products in Southeast Asia
equipment for landing, transport and store of 
fish and fish products are not satisfactorily 
kept in good hygiene condition, resulting in 
deterioration and post-harvest losses.
-  The aquaculture fisheries have not been 
developed sufficiently to supply enough raw 
materials to the processing industry.
-  The fishermen in fishing vessels and workers in 
fish farms are not trained sufficiently for proper 
handling of raw materials to reduce post-harvest 
losses.
-  Rules and regulations for quality management 
are lacking.
The fisheries quality management system 
is facing the following matters :
Because the fisheries quality management system 
has been established recently, we have yet to fine- 
tune the rules and regulations. These rules and 
regulations do not take sufficient note of the 
complicated situation of seafood product quality in 
the market. The Ministry of Fisheries is actively 
setting up new rules and regulations in order to 
manage thoroughly and closely the quality of fish 
products.
The government has passed the law of 
com m odity No 86/CP on 8/12/1995. The 
enactm ent distributes responsib ilities on 
commodity quality to the various ministries. Since 
July 1996, the Ministry of Fisheries, based on that 
enactment and on by-law rules and regulations, 
has been charged to carry out fishery quality 
management in the country. This will tidy up the 
control and issue of seafood products with health 
certificate. The Ministry of Fisheries will now manage 
closely and effectively the export of seafood products.
The fishery product quality inspection 
organisation is prepared to issue product hygiene 
and quality assurance for overseas customers. It is 
also providing proper training to cadres who are 
quality m anagers in state departm ents or 
establishments to upgrade their skills.
Future Developments in Relation to 
Quality Management
In order to im prove the quality of 
Vietnamese fishery products and to keep up with 
fisheries development in the region the Ministry of 
Fisheries has set up the following measures on 
quality management to be implemented in the next 
few years:
1. Perfecting the fisheries product assurance and 
quality management system.
-  Strengthen personnel, upgrade laboratories 
and train cadres from MOFI, NAFIQACEN,
the Fishery R esources Conservation 
D epartm ent and branches of the last two 
organisations.
-  Prom ulgate the rules and regulations for 
m onitoring fishery product quality and 
hygiene assurance practised in the 
establishments from the production of raw 
m aterial, post-harvest handling and 
preserving, collecting, transporting, 
processing and product storage and their 
import and export.
-  Set up and prom ulgate the Vietnamese 
standards based on product quality. Stipulate 
the scope and objectives of these standards 
and supervise and m onitor their 
im plem entation. In particular, attach 
im portance to im plem enting good 
manufacturing practice (GMP) and advanced 
management methods based on the application 
of HACCP.
-  Intensify training for quality inspectors, and 
quality  m anagers of establishm ents; 
concentrate on training for total quality 
management.
-  E stablish relations with ASEAN fishery 
quality managem ent systems. Cement the 
relationship with quality control institutions of 
EU, America and Canada in order to create 
conditions for the export of Vietnamese 
seafood products into those markets.
2. Set up the quality management program for 
raw materials.
-  Prom ulgate the technical standards and 
procedures for producing, collecting, 
transporting and preserving raw materials. 
Only those establishments which meet those 
requirem ents in full will be issued with a 
permit to produce raw materials.
-  Prom ulgate regulations which require 
processing plants to extend the scope of their 
quality m anagem ent program s to the 
production of raw m aterials. Develop 
measures to help preserve raw m aterials, 
decrease post-harvest loss and prom ote 
hygiene and quality assurance. Organise 
seminars to disseminate technical guidance in 
preservation, transport and handling of raw 
material appropriate with hygiene and assurance 
conditions.
-  Continue upgrading production facilities and 
im prove preservation and processing 
technology, fine-tune investment policy, divert 
capital to increase production of raw 
materials, develop aquaculture in areas with 
commercial productivity into industrial-scale
Research Paper: Dung 249
concerns, rationalise exploitation of natural 
resources, and prevent the deterioration of the 
environment; also attach importance to off-shore 
capture fisheries.
To meet the requirements of industrialisation 
and modernisation the fisheries processing 
sub-sector must re-organise itself to produce a 
large amount of products with added value, in 
order to m eet the dem ands o f different 
markets.
The issues concerning quality 
management must be confronted now so that the 
export value of fish products can be increased. Besides 
the Vietnamese economy can be subsequently 
strengthened and the country can keep in step with 
the rest of the region.
Recommendations for Seminar
After reviewing the draft recommendations, the summary of recommendations for the Seminar was 
adopted on 1 November 1996.
The winner of the two awards were announced. Ms Sirilak Suwanrangsi received the MFRD Award 
for the best country paper, while the Amano Award for the best research paper went to Ms Krissana 
Sophonphong for her paper on the Sensory Evaluation of Frozen Prawns.
Summary of recommendations:
1. To put emphasis on traditional fish products especially at improving quality, e.g. standardizing production 
methods, improving packaging, promoting utilization and upgrading the industry.
2. To use the ASEAN Network of Fisheries Post-Harvest Technology Centres (ASEAN Network) and its 
existing electronic information network to disseminate information and other aspects of technology 
development in the region.
3. To put more emphasis on handling and preservation of fish and raw materials.
4. To look into simple and rapid methods on quality assessment in the industry.


Quality management of fishery products in Vietnam: Advancing towards integration with the regional countries and the world

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Quality management of fishery products in Vietnam: Advancing towards integration with the regional countries and the world

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