The US Food and Drug Administration, which has for some time been engaged with Indian regulators and technical officials in training how to comply with the country’s shrimp importing norms, has now shifted its focus to train local marine export community.

Mathew T Thomas, Director, USFDA India Office, told BusinessLine , “We are now training people involved in fishing and exporting of shrimps. We have recently had such sessions in Vizag and Kochi.”

The USFDA refused 208 seafood entry lines in March of which 17 or 8.2 per cent (seven companies from three different countries including India), were of shrimp related to banned antibiotics residue.

The US agency had also trained pharmaceuticals industry insiders and regulators in 2014 and 2015 regarding US quality and safety norms compliance including that on good manufacturing practices, Thomas said.

“USFDA and Indian authorities are moving towards designing a national action plan in these areas,” he observed.

Antibiotics residue and anti-microbial residue in Indian shrimps, chickens and livestock has been attracting attention of the US authorities.

An USFDA official said that in certain cases of imports from India pre-shipment inspection was being done by USFDA. “We have been exchanging notes on quality and safety inspections. In future, we look forward to sharing inspection reports,” he added.

This cooperation is a result of an MoU last year between the Export Inspection Council, under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the USFDA.The MoU is to “serve as a precursor for product specific memoranda of understanding” between the Indian and US agencies in the areas of “food safety and sharing expertise in support of mutually beneficial public health outcomes”.

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