(VOVworld) - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a list of foreign catfish farms from four countries eligible to export their products to the US under the USDA inspection program for Siluriformes fish including tra and basa fish.

23 Vietnamese fish plants eligible to export to US (Internet photo)

The list defines qualified fish establishments including 19 from China, 13 from Myanmar, seven from Thailand, and 23 from Vietnam.

The inspection program for Siluriformes fish took effect on March 1, 2016 and has a 18-month transitional period. By the end of the transitional period on September 1, 2017, the program will be fully applied.

During the 18-month transitional period, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will re-inspect and conduct species and residue sampling on imported Siluriformes fish shipments at least quarterly at US import establishments on a random basis.

After the transitional period, foreign countries seeking to continue exporting such products to the US must submit adequate documentation showing the equivalence of their Siluriformes inspection system with that of the US.