FDA Says Exporters Are Successfully Applying Recommended Measures.

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has informed that Indian authorities are applying several of its recommendations meant to “better assure the safety of shrimp being exported to the US.”

William Jones, Acting Deputy Director for Office of Food Safety, Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), FDA, sent a letter dated 15 June stating that in April of last year, the FDA sent a team of aquaculture experts to appraise India's management of veterinary drug residues in products manufactured for export to the US, Business Line reports.

The move allegedly was provoked by concerns noted by the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) over rocketing shrimp consignments from an Indian exporter, which were subject to two separate Import Alerts. Of particular concern were the companies GVR Exports Pvt Ltd and Sagar Grandhi Exports Ltd.

In addition, the FDA also gave details about its work to attend to the enduring problem of the use of banned antibiotics in shrimp aquaculture, the report states.

The Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) said that in the past year, significant and effective developments have taken hold. Now shrimp originating from all of the country’s registered farms undergo obligatory testing prior to harvesting. No exporter can buy shrimp without this mandatory pre-harvest testing.

President of SEAI Anwar Hashim said that, in terms of the shrimp exporters, not just the samples but also the entire shrimp consignments to the US are being tested, and the same case extends to shrimp exports destined for Europe. No Indian exporter can sell shrimp that have not acquired the pre-harvesting certificates and no Indian port will permit exports without the proper certification.

Indeed, the FDA’s letter declares that India has implemented much of the FDA's advice “including a mandatory pre-harvest sample and testing programme for unapproved residues for all shrimp exported to the US.”

The agency's sampling programme consequently found nitrofurans and associated metabolites in 2.9 per cent of shrimp and shrimp products in 2010 -- a sharp drop from the levels detected in 2009.

The FDA attributed this change in part to India's adoption of pre-harvest sampling and testing programmes.

At the same time, FDA remains uncertain regarding whether it would be enough to heavily address the issue of banned and harmful antibiotics used in shrimp aquaculture.

It is frequently argued that more testing is not the solution, but the FDA's recommendations confirm that it is in fact a vital tool in addressing the problem, according to the report.

Hardly any shrimp consignment to the US have attracted an import alert during the first seven months of 2011, and exporters say the reason is increased testing in India.

Source : fis.com