CIFT Receives Internationally Recognised Accreditation for Seafood Testing

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research's Institute of Fisheries Technology, which was previously recognized by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (a constituent board of the Quality Council of India), has now received NABL-FSSAI integrated accreditation, that will help improve the image of Indian seafood in the global market. NABL approved CIFT as the first ICAR research institute. 

According to Leela Edwin, Interim Director of CIFT, the integrated accreditation broadened the area of testing 380 criteria in accordance with national and international quality requirements for water, fish, and fishery products, feed, gear materials, and packing materials. 

She said that seafood exports required mandated testing of water, packing materials, and fish products to ensure that they met the quality criteria established by importing countries. The NABL-accredited test certification was a globally recognized requirement for export purposes. 

The facility will give a boost to Indian exports 

ICAR-CIFT in Kochi has taken on the task of screening for antibiotics, pesticide residues, presence of heavy metals, toxins in finfish and shellfish, hazardous pollutants, food additives, and the like, in addition to assessing for bacterial pathogens and infectious viruses in fish. 

CIFT is also accredited for evaluating numerous quality criteria on paper, plastic, paper board, plastic films, fishing gear, and materials. CIFT has previously been designated as the National Referral Laboratory for fish and fisheries products in 2017. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which reports to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, also designated the ICAR institute as a National Reference Laboratory for fish and fish products in 2019. 

Dr. Edwin, who just took over as acting director of CIFT, is the head of the Fishing Technology Division and follows Dr. Ravishankar C.N., who was named director and Vice-Chancellor of the ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education in Mumbai, according to a communication. Her Ph.D. thesis received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for best Ph.D. thesis in fishery sciences in India in 2000. In the domain of polymer science and technology, she has also received a National Award for Technology Innovation (runner-up).