KOCHI:
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) today launched a certification system for aquaculture, that guarantees quality shrimp post larvae (PL) and authenticates their quality in the highly competitive international market.
Called, Shaphari, the ‘Antibiotic-free Certification’, is an the end-to-end solution that enables MPEDA to audit the Post Larvae’s offered by hatcheries across the country, said Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan after inaugurating the 22nd India International Seafood Show being organised here by the MPEDA, the nodal agency of the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and the Seafood Export Association of India (SEAI).
The move comes in the context of top world bodies having identified a rapid evolution of drug-resistant bacteria called superbugs, he added.
As the WHO and the UN have identified the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains as a high-priority public health concern, farmers in India are bound to buy antibiotic-free Post larvae’s from hatcheries certified by a governing body, he pointed out.
The entire certification process will be online in tune with the e-governance programme of the Government of India. There are various certifications systems, like MSC, BAP, etc., which are otherwise offshore certification processes, unaffordable to the small and marginal Indian farmers. The present initiative will make the certification scheme affordable to the small and marginal aqua farmers in India.
“Our rigorous certification will enable aqua farmers to freely validate online that the Post larvae’s offered by hatcheries across the country are antibiotic-free,” he pointed out. “The entire process has been designed to guarantee the cent per cent healthy products so as to boost our exports as well.”
Exporters can use the certification as a credible proof of document while trading globally. It involves a real-time, four-phased audit recording. The scheme is in conformity with the FAO guidelines on certification of aquaculture.
The February 7-9 IISS, which showcases the latest technological advances in aquaculture sector, puts on display India’s continued buoyancy in sustainable seafood exports in the face of stiff global competition. The event, where industry leaders and experts deliberate on policies and actionable roadmaps to achieve the country’s marine products export target of US$10 billion by 2022, has ‘Blue Revolution: Beyond Production to Value Addition’ as its focal theme.
