MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Salmon industry controversy between Chile and NY Times
Amb. Fernandez accuses NYT of confusing readers Chilean media reports that The New York Times “finally published an extract” from the letter sent by the Chilean Ambassador in United States, Mariano Fernandez relative to the Chilean salmon industry which was harshly criticized by the influential newspaper.
The purpose of the letter was to point out that the "generalized accusations" against the Chilean salmon industry, among which the alleged indiscriminate use of antibiotics, were false. Following the New York Times article US supermarkets Safeway cancelled all purchases of Chilean salmon. However apparently the NYT avoided some paragraphs from the letter such as when Ambassador Fernandez claims that "readers are being led to confusion" and possibly favoring the local salmon industry. Another paragraph ignored was one which said that "this piece has been written in a manner to harm a relatively new and successful industry which has become the world's second exporter of salmon and trout". The original ambassador's letter had seven paragraphs and was addressed to the editor of the NYT, according to the Santiago media. Chile's salmon industry Published: April 4, 2008 To the Editor: Re: "Virus Kills Chile's Salmon and Indicts Its Fishing Methods"(news art, March 27): The salmon and trout industry in Chile accounts for more than 50,000 jobs, $2.2 billion in exports in 2007, and 45 percent of the total imports of salmon and trout to the United States. I agree with American officials and Chilean executives when they reject the notion that Chilean salmon industry practices are unsafe and reaffirm that the virus called infectious salmon anemia is not harmful to humans. To give further assurances to American consumers, it is important to remember that the Food and Drug Administration said that in 2007 none of the salmon samples tested positive to any of the chemicals or drugs mentioned in the article. Moreover, all relevant food industries in the world face different challenges related to safety, sanitary controls and so on. The fact remains that Chile shows a remarkable record in prevention and management of food safety in this field. Mariano Fernánde - Ambassador of Chile Washington, April 1, 2008
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesCommenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!