Herring fish, or Tamban, to be distributed to poor families affected by the enhanced community quarantine amid the Covid-19 in Sorsogon province in March 2020. Photo from the local government of Casiguran, Sorsogon.
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The local fish Tamban, or Herring fish, can now be exported after being included in the Codex Alimentarius Commission鈥檚 (CAC) international food standards for fish and fishery products, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
In a statement, the DA explained that the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization established the CAC聽to set global food safety standards to protect consumers and ensure fair trade practices.
鈥淭his is welcome news for the local fishery industry, a major export earner for the Philippines. This should stimulate new investments in the sector and create new jobs,鈥� Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the DA, Tamban鈥檚 inclusion in the codex was the result of six years of advocacy and technical discussions through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI).
Ulysses Montojo, chairperson of NFRDI鈥檚 Subcommittee on Fish and Fishery Products, led the initiative to complete the technical requirements for Tamban, or Sardinella lemuru.
鈥淭he study, supported by a P17 million funding from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of Agriculture鈥檚 Bureau of Agricultural Research, fulfilled the technical criteria necessary for the species鈥� inclusion in the Codex,鈥� the DA said.
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Tamban, a sardine species native to the Eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, faced export restrictions in European markets, according to the DA.
鈥淏etween 2016 and 2017, several European Union (EU) countries rejected imports of canned sardines labeled as Sardinella lemuru, citing its non-inclusion in the EU鈥檚 Codex Standard for Canned Sardines and Sardine-Type Products,鈥� the DA said.
The rejection led to the loss of hundreds of metric tons of exports, underscoring the need to update the codex, the DA noted.
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The agency said the effort to include Tamban in the codex standard began in 2018, following encouragement from the EU Fisheries Agency.
鈥淎fter years of technical reviews and deliberations, the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products approved the inclusion in 2024, highlighting the species鈥� comparable sensory qualities to other sardine species and the sustainability of its fish stocks,鈥� the DA added.