17/03/14: Screening Seafood

An issue that was raised at both American Aquaculture and at FAO COFI meeting on Fish Trade recently was that of utilisation of drugs and antibiotics.

Today there are several different types of veterinary drugs used in seafood cultivation to reduce mortality and improve aquatic animal health (production).

Within the meat livestock industry the various types of drugs include growth promoters and synthetic steroids to produce leaner meat, anthelmintics and coccidiostats to combat parasitic worms and flukes.

In both the meat and seafood industries, bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics. Within the aquaculture industry triphenylmethane dyes are used for the treatment of fungal and protozoal infections.

Of course residues of these drugs are highly are highly regulated in food production and they are no different from humans taking drugs for many reasons.
Harvesters have to ensure when their product goes to market that traces of antibiotics, etc. are within the regulations tolerances or their run the risk of rejection. It can be difficult for harvesters to determine that level and Randox Food Diagnostics is now offering to provide reliable and economical screening methods to monitor antimicrobials, growth promoting compounds, synthetic steroids, anthelmintics, coccidiostats and triphenylmethane dyes.

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