Various players in the Vietnamese pangasius sector have expressed their anger and confusion at the return of apparent food safety scares among consumers which were thought to have been laid to rest.

In 2011 German television showed a documentary on pangasius, which portrayed the species as a cheap, low quality fish, raised in dirty water. Sales fell by as much as 25% in the country, said Klaas Jan Mazereeuw of Seafood Connection back in 2013.

In 2012 European imports of pangasius fell 20%, and Mazereeuw pointed to ideas of antibiotics, water quality, unsustainable feed and escapees from farms as possible influencers.

He was speaking at the Billingsgate sustainable seafood award, celebrating the work the sector and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) had put into improving every aspect of pangasius farming.

Now, with documentaries once more airing in Spain, and Carrefour removing the species from its shelves in a number of countries, the concern is that negative perceptions remain, despite the rise of certifications and professionalization in Vietnam.

“It’s hard for us to find any evidence for the allegations made [by Carrefour],” Contessa Kellogg-Winters of the ASC told Undercurrent News. “We hope any decisions of this nature would be based on facts, but we’re not sure why this decision has been made.”

Carrefour Belgium confirmed to Undercurrent that the decision there – announced on Jan. 23, the first of the retailer’s divisions to announce it – was “motivated by the impact of pangasius on the environment in general, and its environment in Asia particularly”.