MPEDA launches end to end online Shrimp Pre Harvest Test Certification

26 Jan 2021

Being a perishable commodity, the quality perceptions on seafood are quite sensitive; so also the concerns about the residues, especially anti-microbial substances. The regulations of our major markets such as EU, Japan, USA etc, have stringent laws in place for antibiotic and pharmacologically active substances, with many of them have prescribed levels “Not detectable” upon testing with advanced equipments.

The spate on rejections in the major markets for the past 5 years also indicate that the presence of residues of banned antibiotics / pharmacologically active substances are a major issue with the export of farmed shrimps from India.  

Way back in 2009, as the EU was contemplating a ban on the import of shrimp from India due to the presence of banned antibiotics, MPEDA has intervened and set up ELISA labs to test farmed shrimps prior to harvest and certify that they are free of banned antibiotic substances. The same year the Export inspection Council of India has made the Pre-Harvest Test certificate mandatory for export of all aquaculture products irrespective of the country to which the material was being exported. Currently, Pre-Harvest Test certification is mandatory for EU market only.  Compliance to PHT certification will also help the farmers to earn MPEDA ‘SHAPHARI’ certification aimed to promote farmed aquatic products. 

MPEDA is currently operating 12 ELISA Labs at Bhimavaram, Amalapuram, Kakinada, Ongole, Nellore, Machilipatnam, Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Kolkatta, Valsad, Kochi & Nagapatinam for testing of farmed shrimps intended for export to EU Market. The shrimps from the aquaculture farms are tested for antibiotic residues prior to the harvest of the crop, and in case of negative results, reports are given to the farmers as Pre Harvest Test certificates by these ELISA labs. Pre Harvest Test certificates are compulsory for export of farmed shrimps to EU market. Certain farmers check their shrimps voluntarily also as their crop will fetch a better price with the PHT certificate. Three more ELISA labs at Haroa & Contai (West Bengal) and Bapatla (Andhra Pradesh) are being set up by MPEDA to cater to the requirements of farmers in those places.

As per the existing system, the farmers have to place a request to the nearest ELISA lab to sample their crop, based on which the sample collector visits the farm and draws the sample for testing. The sample is taken to the lab and a test report is issued for negative results after the testing procedure.

MPEDA has revamped the procedure and now facilitates online application process by the farmers for sampling under the Pre Harvest Test Certification scheme. The farmer can also pay the fee for analysis online through Billdesk Payment Gateway with the option of UPI, Google Pay and debit card, credit card, net banking etc. Based on the online request from the farmer, samples are draw and analysed. The farmer can track the position of his sample and get intimation on report generation. A mobile app of the PHT certification system is also developed by MPEDA with the help of NIC. The final test report will be available to the farmer by email. He can also download the test certificate by logging on to the certification software.   

The online PHT certification system was inaugurated by Shri K S Srinivas IAS, Chairman, MPEDA on 26th January 2021 through video conferencing. The function was attended by Dr. M Karthikeyan, Director, MPEDA, Shri K S Pradeep, Secretary, MPEDA, Dr. Ram Mohan M K and Shri P Anil Kumar, Joint Directors, MPEDA, Shri Jagdish Fofandi, National President Seafood Exporters Association of India, and Shri V Balasubramaniam, Secretary, Prawn Farmers Federation of India.