Sea Food

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has always recognized the need for quality assurance as an essential discipline to guarantee safe, wholesome and functional fisheries products.

No food production, processing, distribution company or organization can be self-sustained in the medium and long term unless the issues of quality, including the safety aspect, are properly recognized and addressed, and an appropriate quality system is put into operation in the processing establishment.

Seafood has traditionally been a popular part of the diet in many parts of the world and in some countries constituted the main supply of animal protein. Today even more people are turning to fish as a healthy alternative to red meat. The low fat content of many fish species (white fleshed, demersal) and the effects on coronary heart disease of the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fatty (pelagic) fish species are extremely important aspects for health-conscious people particularly in affluent countries, where cardiovascular disease mortality is high. However, consumption of fish and shellfish may also cause diseases due to infection or intoxication. Some of the diseases have been specifically associated with consumption of seafood while others have been of more general nature.

Seafood includes both finfish, shellfish and cephalopods (octopus, squid). The term shellfish covers the bivalve molluscan shellfish (oysters, cockles, clams and mussels), the gastropods (periwinkles, sea-snails) and the crustacean shellfish (crab, lobster, shrimp).

Seafood differs from other types of food in a number of ways. The seafood processor is limited in his choice of raw materials to what is available in respect of size, condition and fish species landed by the fishermen. It should also be emphasized that while the inner and outer surface of warm blooded animals (gastrointestinal tract, skin) represent specific ecological environments with a very specific microbiological flora, these environments are very different for fish and shellfish. The microbiological flora in the intestines of these cold blooded animals is quite different being psychotropic in nature and to some extent believed to be a reflection of general contamination in the aquatic environment. Some seafood is processed in a modern fish industry which is a technologically advanced and complicated industry in line with any other food industry and with the same risk of products being contaminated with pathogenic organisms or toxin.

Why to Test Sea Food?

The quality of our foods is of major concern to food processors and public health authorities. It has been estimated that there are more than 80 million cases per annum of food-borne illnesses in the USA (Miller and Kvenberg 1986) and that the cost of these illnesses is in the order of many billions of dollars per year (Todd 1989b). The economic losses due to spoilage are rarely quantified but a report by the US National Research Council Committee (FNB/NRC 1985) estimates that one–fourth of the world's food supply is lost through microbial activity alone. Thus, the need for control of quality of our food is very important and, since the rate of food-borne illnesses is increasing, there is also an urgent need to improve the traditional or present means of assuring the quality of food. Eurofins can support for the same with its wide range of testing services.

Indian seafood exporters need a reliable and competent partner to address the issues of Seafood Quality Assurance which involves auditing, testing and inspection of the product at each stage to verify that it satisfies food safety and regulatory requirements.

Eurofins can analyze fish species to prevent food fraud or mislabeling. Eurofins' comprehensive portfolio of analytical tests includes not only innovative DNA - based species identification of fish, but also other parameters to ensure the overall quality and quality control of fish and aquaculture products.

Our Analytical Scope

Chemical Analysis:

• Main nutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, lipids, fatty acids, vitamins amino acids)
• Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Hg)
• Water Analysis as per WHO, IS 4251-IS 10500, IS 14543
• Dyes
• Veterinary drug residues
• Pesticides Residues
• Polycyclic aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Histamine
• Authenticity : distinction of breeding / wild origin, differentiation of species
• Pathogenic bacteria
• GMOs (screening, identification, quantification of GMOs not tolerated in the product) 
• Migration of packaging materials or that have been in contact with food

Microbiology Analysis:

• Aerobic plate count
• Coli
• Coliforms
• Enterobacteriaceae
• Shigella sps
• aureus
• Salmonella sps
• Yeast & Moulds
• cereus
• Listeria Monocytogenes
• Vibrio Cholerae
• Vibrio Parahaemolyticus
• Clostridium botulinum

Other Tests

• Shelf life studies
• Migration of packaging materials or that have been in contact with food

Our additional services:

• Sampling on site, in accordance with national / international standards
• Control of your process water, domestic hot water, TAR water and waste water
• Training of your teams on issues related to quality control, hygiene and HACCP

Benefits of Eurofins:

• Fast delivery times
• High analysis capacity
• Competitive prices
• Expert advisers with in-depth knowledge of the method, available and at your service 
• A broad portfolio of analyzes for all your raw materials and finished products
• A customer service that ensures the personalized follow-up of your samples
• Online access to your samples and the ability to download your results via the EOL platform (Eurofins OnLine)
• A legal and regulatory support possible by our legal expert
• Local contact with a Global network

Participation in Industry associations and regulatory bodies allowing early advice on potential food scares and legal obligations