The new food safety norm introduced by the European Union is likely to affect seafood exports from India.
According to exporters and scientists, India will have to upgrade and develop testing standards in the domestic market and adhere to various sanitary and phytosanitary regulations to maintain its position in the export market.
The recent rejection of a few consignments by the European Union, because of antibiotic residue, has raised an alarm in the industry and has emphasised the need for proper standards. Exporters have also urged the government to put in place the necessary mechanism to measure the residue content as per the European Union norms.
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According to exporters, the European Union has imposed strict norms on the basis of antibiotic levels in seafood and had rejected four consignments from India.
With the ban already in place on Chinese seafood, any deficiency in safety norms may invite a ban on Indian products also. Scientists, therefore, say it is important that the country takes the necessary measures to meet the international standards.
Exporters added that though India had not imposed a ban on certain chemicals used as antibiotics in fish meal and medicines used in aquaculture farms, the consignments were rejected because they had residues of nitrofuran and chlorophenicol above the permissible level of 1.6 ppb (particles per billion).
As per the EU norms, consignments from South Asia have to be scrutinised strictly.
Exporters say,