April 30, 2007

Bangladesh to use machine to detect antibiotics in frozen shrimps

Bangladesh has started commercial operation of its antibiotic detecting machine.

The machine would be used in to analyse frozen shrimps for export to make sure they comply with requirements set by importing countries.

The machine would be able to detect nitrofuran and Chloramphenicol in shrimp bodies.

Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) members earlier officially handed over the machine to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock late last year.

The Department of Fisheries (DoF), under the ministry, has installed the nitrofuran-detecting machine in the Fisheries Inspection and Quality Control (FIQC) lab in Dhaka.

The DoF has asked shrimp processing companies across the country to send samples of their shrimps to the lab for an analysis before export. The acting Director General (DG) Nazrul Islam has called for shrimp processing companies in Dhaka, Khulna and Chittagong to send in samples as part of its Aquaculture Residue Monitoring Plan (ARMP).

Last year, the European Union (EU), the largest export destination of Bangladesh's frozen foods, rejected a number of shipments after detecting nitrofuran in shrimp.