Norway rejects virus concerns as excuse for China's reason for salmon import ban

The Norwegian Seafood Council yesterday disputed China's ban on imported whole salmon from the Scandinavian country, saying the fish were safe to eat.

A Chinese fisheries expert also suggested the ban introduced on Wednesday was an overreaction .

Citing Norway's Food Safety Authority, Reuters reported this week that China would not import whole salmon until Norwegian exporters could certify that the fish were from waters free of anaemia, a disease of Atlantic salmon that can progress slowly and lead to massive farmed fish deaths. Partially processed salmon, including fish without heads, gills or entrails, are allowed into the country, according to the report.

But the seafood council said yesterday the disease could not be transmitted to humans or make them ill. Only superior quality fish could be exported from the country .

China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine could not be reached for comment yesterday. But it said on its website that more than six tonnes of chilled Atlantic salmon imported from Norway were destroyed in Shenzhen in June after testing positive for the virus.

Zhou Zhuocheng, a fisheries expert at the China Fisheries Association, said the chances were "very slim" of introducing the virus into China through imported whole salmon.