KOCHI : A team of experts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) have landed in Kochi to impart training to seafood industry professionals to detect the quality of seafood and avoid the export of decomposed products to the US.
“We have regulations in the US to ensure the quality of seafood reaching the consumers. The training programme is aimed at standardising the procedure to detect the quality of shrimp by checking the odour. Because, if the consignment does not pass the quality test in the US, it will be returned,” JIFSAN aquaculture and seafood safety expert Brett Koonse told TNIE.
“We are imparting training to industry professionals, government officials and representatives of academia, which will help them identify the level of decomposition of seafood. You should be able to identify the level of decomposition on a 1-100 scale. So if the rating is below 50, the consignment is good and anything above 50 is bad,” he said.
The four-day training programme has been organised in collaboration with the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), aiming to elevate the quality of seafood exports to meet the USFDA standards.
“It aims to equip regulatory and seafood industry professionals with crucial insights into sensory analysis which is a pivotal tool for ensuring the quality and safety of seafood. The primary focus of the course is on detecting and preventing seafood adulteration resulting from decomposition to safeguard consumers from potential health risks and also to reduce the exports of faulty consignments,” said CIFT director George Ninan.
“This initiative is part of the USFDA’s commitment to fostering a positive outlook in the Indian seafood export industry by conducting a series of training sessions for seafood exporters and regulatory officials,” said USFDA India country director Dr Sarah McMullen.