About Shrimp School
by Jim
Cato*
The annual shrimp school presented jointly by Florida
Sea Grant and the Aquatic Food Products Program (UF/IFAS) had its first school
in 1995. The annual training program was conceived and 
organized by Steve Otwell,
FSG
seafood safety specialist, and has been conducted by Otwell and Laura Garrido, current
shrimp school coordinator. The school is dedicated to advancing shrimp product quality and safety, and has become the leading
academically-based domestic and international training program for shrimp
processors and regulators worldwide. This technical program features
current and basic topics through lectures and actual hands-on training. The optimal class size is 25 participants, although registration is cut
off at about 30. Annual demand for the school always exceeds the number of seats
available.
The US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) now considers this school its principal training program
for
shrimp processors and
importers into the
US
, and sends from two to four instructors to teach decomposition and filth training, a major problem with imported shrimp, and other topics of
current priority to FDA. All other training is conducted by experienced speakers
from the
University
of
Florida
and private industry. Recent industry speakers have represented ABC Research
Labs, Red Chambers, Co, R-Biopharm, Inc, Charm Sciences, Darden Restaurants,
Costco Wholesale, Contessa Food Products, Global Aquaculture Alliance and the
European Union. The training combines lectures with daily laboratory experience
and demonstrations, and the topics change as processing and regulatory issues
change. This three-day school is useful for experienced and new suppliers,
processors, buyers, importers, exporters, inspectors or quality control managers
and others in the private industry from management through production. On
completion of the course, participants are provided with certificates for future
reference as alumni of the
UF-Shrimp
School
.
From 2000-04, a total of eight schools have been completed. Six
were held at the AFPL/UF, one in
Nicaragua
and one in
California
(focused on
Asia
). Two were focused on
Latin America
and were taught in Spanish. From 2000-2004, 229 participants have completed the
schools, with 93 percent coming from industry. The attendees have come from 20
different countries. Forty-five percent have come from outside the
US
, making the school truly international. The
US
is one of the three major shrimp importing regions in the world, and major
suppliers to the
US
from
China
,
Vietnam
,
Thailand
, and
Ecuador
, some of the major exporting countries have attended. The
Nicaragua
school was part the NOAA/Sea Grant Hurricane Mitch recovery effort. While
attendance is limited to about 30, a major part of the international shrimp
industry is covered. For example, 10 of the world’s top 25 shrimp companies
were in attendance at the 2004 school.
Evaluations are conducted at the end of each school during a group
discussion or by formal survey. For example, in the
Nicaragua
school, 87.5 percent rated the effectiveness of the training as very effective;
12.5 percent as effective. All 24 participants indicated they would use the
information during the next 12 months.
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*Jim Cato
Senior
Associate Dean and Director,
School
of
Natural Resources
and Environment
Director,
Florida
Sea
Grant
College
Program
Professor,
Food and Resource Economics
University
of
Florida
www.flseagrant.org
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