National Residue Control Plan (NRCP) is a statutory requirement for export to EU countries. Under NRCP, definite sampling schedule and sampling strategies are drawn every year for monitoring the residues of substances like Antibacterial/Veterinary Medicinal Products and environmental contaminants. Samples are collected from hatcheries, feed mills, aquaculture farms and processing plants, located in maritime states and tested for the presence of any residue/contaminant of the following substances:

Group A – Substances having an anabolic effect and unauthorized substances:

Sl. No.Substances/GroupParameters
1Stilbenes (A1)

Diethyl Stilbestrol

Dienestrol

Hexestrol

2Steroids (A3)

17-Beta Estradiol,

Progesterone &

Medroxy Progesterone acetate

3Compounds included in Annex IV to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 (A6)

Chloramphenicol,

Nitrofurans (4) & their metabolites (4)

Nitroimidazoles (7)

Group B Substances – Veterinary drugs and Environmental contaminants:

Sl. No.Substances/GroupParameters
1Antibacterial substances (B1)

Tetracyclines with 4-Epimers (3)

Sulphonomides (11)

Quinolones/Fluro-quinolones (9)

Macrolides (4)

Beta Lactams (6)

Lincosamide

Diaminopyramidines

Doxycycline

Cephalosporins (2)

2Anthelmintics (B2a)

Ivermectin

Emamectin

3Organochlorine compounds including PCBs (B3a)

DDT, BHC Isomers, Aldrin, Dieldrin, Heptachlor, Chlordane, Endrine, HCB.

Poly-chlorinated By-phenyls (PCBs)

4Chemical Elements (B3c)Mercury(Hg), Cadmium(Cd), Arsenic(As) & Lead(Pb)
5Mycotoxins (B3d)Aflatoxin B1 & B2
6Dyes (B3e)

Malachite green & Leuco-malachite green

Crystal violet & Leuco-crystal violet

Following are the other residue monitoring/control programmes undertaken by MPEDA QC Laboratories:

  1. Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level (MPRNL):- This is an ongoing project funded by Dept. of Agriculture (MoA). The samples of inland fishes, crustaceans, and Molluscans collected from all the maritime states are analyzed for organo-chlorine pesticide residues by MPEDA QC Laboratory in Kochi.
  2. Monitoring of radio nuclides:- The wild-caught Fishes, Shrimps and Cephalopods samples are collected from different regions and forwarded to BARC, Mumbai, for the analysis of radio nuclides.