The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has established a collaboration with several American institutions to enhance market access for Indonesian shrimp in the United States. This partnership, formalized through the Regulatory Partnership Agreement (RPA), involves mutual recognition of quality assurance and safety systems for marine and fishery products with the US. Ishartini, Head of the Agency for Controlling and Quality Assurance of Marine and Fishery Products (BPPMHKP) KKP, mentioned on Tuesday in Jakarta that one key component of this cooperation is capacity building related to whole genome sequencing (WGS). "Foodborne disease monitoring is now shifting to the WGS platform for laboratory testing," Ishartini explained. Besides Indonesia, the US has also offered the WGS laboratory testing platform to India and Ecuador, which are also major shrimp exporters to the US. These countries have already agreed to adopt the WGS scheme to facilitate shrimp exports to the US. "If we do not adopt this scheme or cooperation pattern, Indonesian shrimp will face strict import restrictions upon entering the US, which could be detrimental to us," she added. Ishartini assured that her team has formulated a technical cooperation framework with the University of Maryland and the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). This cooperation includes surveillance of foodborne diseases in shrimp farming areas using the WGS platform. She hopes that this collaboration will result in technology and knowledge transfer from experts at the University of Maryland and the FDA. "Through this cooperation, Indonesia becomes a member of the global WGS Foodborne Disease testing laboratory network based in the US," she concluded.
Wednesday, 10 July 2024 08:08
Indonesia Collaborates with the US to Enhance Shrimp Market Access
