KR Thanseer from Palluruthy wins ₹1 lakh in India’s first national Seafood Value-Addition Skill Olympiad held by MPEDA in Chennai.
Kochi: KR Thanseer, a native of Palluruthy and an employee at Abad Foods, emerged as the winner of the first-ever National Seafood Value-Addition Skill Olympiad, held in connection with the Seafood Expo Bharat organized by MPEDA in Chennai. Thanseer received a cash prize of ₹1 lakh and a certificate of merit. This was the first time the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) hosted such a skill-based Olympiad, aimed at recognizing professionals skilled in seafood value addition.
The awards were distributed by MPEDA Chairman D.V. Swamy and MPEDA Authority Member & Lok Sabha MP Hibi Eden. Balamurugan I of Idhayam Frozen Foods, Thoothukudi won second prize; Sandhya Rani Palaparthi from Coastal Corporation, Andhra Pradesh came third; and D. Anitha from Sandhya Aqua Exports, Andhra Pradesh secured fourth place. In the final round, participants were challenged to devein, peel, cook, and present shrimp in ring form — all within 80 minutes. Judging criteria included skill performance, hygiene, and presentation.
The second, third, and fourth prizes carried cash awards of ₹75,000, ₹50,000, and ₹25,000 respectively. The judging panel consisted of Dr. Parvathi U (Senior Scientist, ICAR-CIFT Kochi), B. Kodeshwar (Processing & QA Supervisor, NIFPHATT, Visakhapatnam), Francis Assisi (Production Manager, Parayil Seafoods), Jayan Jacob (GM, Sandhya Aqua Exports), and Krishnan K. (GM, Sagar Gandhi Exports).
MPEDA Chairman D.V. Swamy stated that the Olympiad has generated tremendous support for India’s value-added seafood sector and the event will be conducted annually. He added that there is a strong global demand for value-added seafood products and such competitions greatly benefit India’s seafood export industry. Initial training and skill tests were held across India, including in Kochi and Visakhapatnam, leading to the selection of ten semi-finalists, from whom the finalists were chosen. Prepared shrimp dishes were exhibited for visitors, who also had the chance to taste various value-added seafood products.
