To bolster confidence in India’s frozen shrimp produce, the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) has developed a certification scheme for aquaculture products called Shaphari.
- Shaphari is a Sanksrit word that means superior quality of fishery products suitable for human consumption.
- The Shaphari scheme is based on the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) technical guidelines on aquaculture certification.
- The Scheme will have two components — certifying hatcheries for the quality of their seeds and, separately, approving shrimp farms that adopt the requisite good practices.
- According to the MPEDA, over the past few years, frequent recalls of import rejections by importing countries have increased consumer awareness on health hazards antibiotics residue and pharmacologically active substances present in the seafood, resulted in great deal of public concern particularly in the developed countries where food safety concerns are dealt at the Governmental level. The new scheme will address those concerns.
- Certification of hatcheries for production of antibiotic free seed will ultimately improve consumer confidence.
- Frozen shrimp is India’s largest exported seafood item. India exported frozen shrimp worth almost $5 billion in 2019-20 to the U.S. and China — its biggest buyers.
- It constituted 50.58% in quantity and 73.2% in terms of total U.S. dollar earnings from the sector during 2019-20.
- Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are the major shrimp producing States, and around 95% of the cultured shrimp produce is exported.
(The Hindu)
