An Industrial Visit to Quality Exports, Cuncolim Industrial Estate was organized for the students of M.Com Part I and II for the academic year 2017-18 on the 16th of September 2017.
Quality Exports is a fish processing plant owned and managed by Mr. Ibrahim Maulana. It exports a wide variety of fish such as mackerel, ribbon fish, kingfish, shrimp, cuttle fish, squids and other types of sea food to countries such as China and other parts of South East Asia.
An employee of the company explained that the first step in fish processing is to preserve the fish as soon as possible in order to maintain its nutritional value, consumption quality and shelf life.
Quality Exports uses the refrigeration and freezing technique of preserving fish. Students were acquainted with the area where the fish is first washed, segregated into cartons by weight and then stored in freezers. Several employees organized into assembly lines carry out this process in a hygienic manner.
In order to prevent the fish from losing its freshness, it is stored in freezers having temperatures set to -180C and -400C. Students were also given a view of the same.
Employees wearing insulated clothing load the boxes of frozen fish into refrigerated shipping containers which are later transported to different countries by sea. Students observed the loading process.
Quality Exports possesses an in-house laboratory which is used for conducting microbiological assessments of frozen seafood. Mr. Ibrahim Maulana also informed us that he was planning to expand his business into the European Union which has its own quality control standards on the import of frozen fish. In this regard he is planning on expanding his laboratory to include the ELISA test. Enthusiastic students were given a demonstration of the microbiological tests. The industrial visit ended with complimentary refreshments provided to the students by Quality Exports.
