Codex Alimentarius includes tamban in international food standards

The Codex Alimentarius Commission has included tamban, or Sardinella lemuru, in its international food safety standards for fish and fishery products.

This decision is expected to boost the Philippines' key fish export industry by opening up new markets and creating jobs.

After six years of advocacy led by the Department of Agriculture and technical discussions, tamban met all necessary criteria for inclusion.

Between 2016 and 2017, European Union countries had rejected imports of canned sardines labeled as Sardinella lemuru due to its non-inclusion in EU standards.

In 2022, sardine exports ranked seventh among the Philippines' fish exports, accounting for 2.7% of total exports.

The inclusion was completed after years of technical reviews and deliberations, highlighting tamban's comparable sensory qualities to other sardine species and the sustainability of its fish stocks.