U.S. to teach seafood safety in Bangladesh

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition are sending experts to Bangladesh to teach seafood safety.

The team of seafood specialists says the goal is to work with Bangladeshi officials to help that country improve the overall quality and safety of its aquaculture products for both domestic and international markets.

"Collaborating with other countries in this way not only helps to improve the quality and safety of their domestic product, but also what they export to the United States and other countries around the world," said Dr. Murray Lumpkin, the FDA's deputy commissioner for international programs.

The FDA said aquaculture is the production of aquatic life such as shrimp, fish and plants under controlled conditions for all or part of their life cycle. The aquaculture industry is now the fastest-growing segment of agriculture worldwide, accounting for 52 percent of all fish produced. In the United States, about 85 percent of the seafood consumed is imported from more than 50 different countries and of that amount, 40 percent comes from aquaculture operations, officials said.

The international training program is a joint effort between the FDA, the University of Maryland and Virginia Tech.