Dar seafood ppp standard

Aquaculture: Prawn production through aquaculture has been established for the last fifteen years along the eastern coastline of Australia and in the Northern Territory. Australian prawn farms are restricted to the coastal zone, virtually all drawing their intake water from tidal creeks and estuaries.

In addition, much of Australia’s import of prawns is produced in aquaculture ponds.

In Australia, prawn aquaculture is carried out in earthen ponds, close to tidal sources of seawater. The pond bottoms have a clay base for retaining seawater. Most farmers harvest, process and ship product direct to markets. Harvesting and post-harvest treatments are species specific. Currently Australia grows two species of prawns: the black tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) and the Japanese king or kuruma prawn (P. japonicus). The black tiger prawn is mostly sold on local Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne markets, either fresh, frozen or cooked. Typically, black tiger prawns are harvested en-masse with a drain harvest, and then chilled or cooked on site before being shipped to domestic markets. The kuruma prawn is grown exclusively for the live trade to Japan.
Like wild-caught prawns, prawns produced through aquaculture may be exposed to various hazards through their water environment. These potential hazards are largely the same as for wild-caught prawns inhabiting estuarine environments, as described above. In intensive aquaculture systems, Vibrio and Salmonella species are considered to be inherent contaminants of prawns [3,10].
Water retained in earthen ponds may be come into contact with chemical pollutants or residues from the surrounding soil, depending on previous land use in the local environment. Further, chemicals and feed components may also be added to pond water, to modify the prawns’ environment. Typically, these may include antibiotics, to combat any pathogens present, and possibly other chemicals with properties that enhance stock growth and/or health. Residues from these chemicals are likely to remain present in the product at time of harvest. Use of such agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines in the food supply chain is regulated through an agreement between FSANZ and APVMA.
All animals grown intensively, under artificially high densities and in contained waters, are prone to disease. Crustacean aquaculture is no exception, with bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases having the potential to affect all life history stages and production phases from hatchery to grow-out. Most bacterial and parasitic diseases are easily identified and treated with better hygiene and limited use of veterinary drugs. Good husbandry practices, including ensuring high water-quality standards, lower stocking densities and the screening of spawners and post-larvae will minimise the occurrence and spread of any viral diseases.
Few of these diseases will be of public health and safety concern, being more relevant to the issue of maximising farm production and outputs. However, the use of chemicals and veterinary drugs to control them may present a potential food safety hazard.
Prawns produced by aquaculture are subject to the same potential hazards during processing, transport and storage as described above for wild-caught prawns.