The 47th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) approved the inclusion of Sardinella lemuru, locally known as tamban, opening new markets for this Philippine fish produce, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the CAC develops international food safety standards to protect consumers and ensure fair trade practices in the global food market.
“This is welcome news for the local fishery industry, a major export earner for the Philippines. It should stimulate new investments in the sector and create more jobs,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
The inclusion of tamban follows six years of advocacy and technical discussions led by the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the NFRDI.
NFRDI’s subcommittee on fish and fishery products chairperson Ulysses Montojo spearheaded efforts to complete the technical requirements for the wild stocks of Sardinella lemuru in the Philippines.
A P17-million study funded by BFAR and the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) met the necessary criteria for Codex inclusion.
Tamban, a sardine species native to the Eastern Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, previously faced trade barriers in European markets.
Between 2016 and 2017, several EU countries rejected canned Sardinella lemuru due to its absence from the EU’s Codex Standard, resulting in the loss of hundreds of metric tons in exports.
Recognizing the need for an update, the EU Fisheries Agency encouraged the Philippines to push for its inclusion in 2018.
After years of technical reviews, the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products approved the species in 2024, citing its comparable sensory qualities and sustainable stocks.
Sardines ranked as the Philippines’ seventh-largest fish export in 2022, making up 2.7 percent of the country’s 282,674 metric tons of fish exports.
Key European markets Germany, the Netherlands and Spain accounted for 12 percent of sardine shipments.