Japan: Yokohama City suspends sales of a batch of bluefin tuna due to difficulty in verifying the origin

The Yokohama City Government of Japan announced on November 28 that it had ordered the suspension of the sale of 12 bluefin tuna purchased by an intermediate wholesaler because the origin information could not be verified. These tuna claimed to come from Oma, Aomori Prefecture, but after many efforts to contact the relevant distributors, their authenticity could not be verified. The problem began on October 28 and November 5, when the intermediate wholesaler purchased 12 bluefin tuna from a supplier who claimed that the fish came from Oma, Aomori Prefecture or nearby areas. However, when the wholesaler asked for relevant certification documents, such as certificates issued by the landing port or local government, the supplier failed to provide them. This lack of supporting documents has attracted widespread attention. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan explained this on November 5, pointing out that although the Fisheries Law did not Immediately restrict ...