Trapia's tilapia farm in Malaysia. (Photo: T. Engoe)

Tamper-proof traceable tilapia

Through the use of DNA-technology, the Norwegian company Genomar, has developed a tamper-proof system for tracing fish back to their origin. It is used in their own large tilapia farm in Malaysia. The farm located high up in rainforest-covered mountains is selling most of its products to the North American market.

In early 2009, a number of US restaurants were checked. Of them, 23 misled their customers by substituting grouper with Vietnamese pangasius or American catfish. Red snapper turned out to be tilapia.

In Canada, of 12 samples of sushi collected from local restaurants in Toronto, ten were confirmed to be tilapia and not snapper. To confirm the specific species DNA-tests had to be performed.

Tamper-proof traceability

Since September of last year, the Malaysian tilapia farming company Trapia Malaysia Sdn Bhd has been harvesting the world’s first tilapia that can be traced from the supermarket shelf back the broodstock.

"We have set a new industrial standard in food safety, being the first company in the world to implement a state-of-the art 'egg to plate' tamper-proof traceability system that is DNA-verified. The GenopassTM verification system," explained managing director Morten Høyum at Genomar's head office in Oslo to FIS.com.

The company Trapia Malaysia is a joint venture in which the Norwegian Life Science company Genomar AS through the subsidiary Genomar Production AS owns 70 per cent. The remaining 30 per cent is owned by the Malaysian company, Dalefin Holding.

The history of the GIFT

Tilapia farm. (Photo: Terje Engoe)

In 1999 Genomar bought the broodstock of the GIFT-strain tilapia, which was developed by the GIFT Foundation in the Philippines and Malaysia.

It was originally a result of a project called “Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia," a joint project between the WorldFish Center in Malaysia and Norwegian research institute Akvaforsk. By selective breeding of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) the project succeeded in increasing the growth of tilapia, giving local farmers the benefits of a more profitable production.

Since they took over the commercial rights to the GIFT-strain, Genomar have enhanced it further. It has now the brand name GST-Tilapia (Genomar Supreme Tilapia).

"The GST-Tilapia is far superior to the wild strains of tilapia. And it has a feed conversion rate (FCR) far better than the original GIFT-strain," explained Høyum.

Since the GIFT-strain has been developed further through selective breeding, the tilapia farmed by Trapia has been enhanced through selective breeding. In genetic enhancement the focus is emphasized on increased growth resulting in an improved FCR, improved fillet yield and increased hardiness of the tilapia. Some of this work breeding improvement in research and developments was made in collaboration with Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory in Singapore.

All the genetic material used in Malaysia has its origin from the breeding facilities in the Philippines. But the DNA profile of the broodstock used is unique.

DNA-markers used for tracing

Genomar has developed a system for traceability and verification of origin using DNA markers. This is particularly important for products dedicated to the European market. From January 2005 traceability became compulsory in the EU and rules for the verification of origin are established. Genomar’s technology, GenopassTM, is one of the few technologies that allow verification of origin of the product today, according to the company.

GenoMar has set up the subsidiary company Genopass Pte Ltd in Singapore to develop and market this technology under the name Genopass.

"In 2005 we decided to establish our own grow out site. Not easy, as we were looking for sites making it possible to operate in a sustainable way that were not harmful to the environment. After searching for a couple of years we decided on the Lake Temenggor in Malaysia," said Høyum to FIS.com.

SQF deep frozen tilapia fillets. (Photo: Terje Engoe)

In February 2009, representatives of the Perak state government, as well as the Federal Government in Kuala Lumpur, assembled on Bandeng Island on Lake Temenggor to officiate the opening of the large tilapia farm. The official opening was done by the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry, Dato' Mustapa bin Mohamed. Also in attendance was the Deputy Minister of Information, Dato' Tan Lian Hoe, and the Director General of Fisheries, Dato' Junaidi bin Che Ayub. The heavy top-level representation of the Malaysian authorities underscores the official backing to the project and the importance given to the project in a nation seeing aquaculture and fisheries as a growth sector.

Lake Temenggor offers areas with good depth, clean water with no pollution from industry or large-scale agricultural activity. A local rainfall of around 3000 mm a year guarantees an exchange of water and reduced build up of pollution from the farm.

There is no reason to produce a tilapia superior in quality if the fishmongers, restaurants and others are substituting the fish with cheaper fish from say China, for example. The traceability system implemented by Trapia gives the importer, in any markets, a tool to control and ensure that other fish are not used as a substitute. All the way, through the market chain, until the fish is ready to be cooked, the GST-Tilapia can be traced back to its original broodstock. When the fish is cooked the DNA-markers is destroyed. In the US and EU markets, the attention to food security through tracing of origin has been given growing attention. There is no other tilapia producer offering a foolproof traceability system comparable to Genomar and Trapia.

"Based on DNA-profiles the fish to be checked can be assigned to its parents. From one small tissue sample the full pedigree information can be made available and the ancestors can be traced 17 generations back. The physical tagging is made only on the parent fish," explains Høyum.

The current facility location has a production capacity of around 2,500 tonnes per year. The high production is linked to the fact that fish can be harvested every six months. Lake Temenggor has according to environmental studies an estimated 16 locations, which are kept at a minimum distance of at least one kilometre between each location for bio-security and environmental reasons. The production target is 40.000 tonnes for 2013, making the company Trapia a large producer, and may be the largest producer of export quality tilapia outside China.

So far the work done by Genomar has been well recognised in the market both locally and in North America, which is the main export market. The company is certified by the Global Aquaculture Alliance according to their Aquaculture Certification Council Standards. They are accepted for “Carrefour Quality Line” of products, and the fish is certified as Halal. The facilities have the ISO 14001 standard (Environmental Management Audit Scheme) certification.

By Terje Engoe
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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