MPEDA Quality Control Lab Develops Protocol to Test Formaldehyde Adulteration

KOCHI:
Expressing concern over repeated incidents of the presence of formaldehyde for preserving seafood in various domestic markets in India in recent times, K S Srinivas, Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority said here today that it poses serious challenges on food safety and has a potential to become an irritant in India’s seafood exports to various markets. To address this, the Quality Control laboratory of MPEDA at its headquarters has developed a testing protocol for formaldehyde adulteration in seafood.

The Quality Control (QC) laboratory of MPEDA is now equipped to detect presence of formaldehyde, which is wrongly used for preserving seafood and the chemical substance has been categorized by the WHO as “a potential health hazard for human beings’.

“The Kochi laboratory, accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and approved by Export Inspection Council (EIC), has developed and validated a method for detecting formaldehyde in seafood using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),” he pointed out.

This method is able to quantify formaldehyde in fish and fishery products and meets the national requirement as per Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI). This parameter has been brought under the scope of accreditation of MPEDA’s QC lab at Kochi. In addition, the Kochi lab has facilities for screening of farmed shrimp samples for banned antibiotics under Pre-Harvest Test (PHT) certification programme.

In another major step, MPEDA has started formally extending testing services in the field of Microbiology from its state-of-the-art Microbiology laboratory to the seafood exporters and other stakeholders of the industry. The lab is capable of testing various microbiological parameters in water, fish and fishery products and spices. The laboratory has also got a molecular biology section that can handle testing of pathogenic viruses in shrimps.

The lab is functional Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5.30 pm, excluding holidays. “In the wake of gradual relaxations in lockdown, we have decided to extend operations at our Quality Control and microbiology laboratories in Kochi to stakeholders. We urge the general public, institutes and other stakeholders to make use of this facility”.

“All the guidelines and protocols charted out by the government, such as social distancing, wearing of masks and use of sanitizers, are being strictly followed at the offices and laboratories of MPEDA,” he added.

The MPEDA Kochi lab is equipped with high-end instruments such as Real-Time PCR, thermal cycler, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/ MS), UHPLC, ICP-MS, and GC-MS.

The MPEDA Chairman said the lab has well-trained samplers for drawing samples from farms and processing units for analysis and skilled technicians for analysis of the samples. The need for such a laboratory has become imperative because USA, the EU and other major seafood importers are tightening their quality norms to safeguard the health of their consumers.

For more details, please contact: Ph. No. 0484 2311979 Ext. 513, e-mail: lab.koc@mpeda.gov.in