Meet SwissShrimp AG: The shrimp farm based in Switzerland that uses ion chromatography systems from Metrohm for quality control of the seawater
Who would have thought of Switzerland when talking about shrimp production?
Yet, SwissShrimp AG is the largest shrimp farm in Europe, located in Rheinfelden, Switzerland. The farm was established 10 years ago and grows local and antibiotic-free Pacific White Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in 16 large indoor pools.
To guarantee high-quality shrimp, the seawater components, especially the toxic parameters ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate, have to be controlled regularly. For this purpose, a highly automated and extremely efficient solution is needed. With the IC system from Metrohm, SwissShrimp measures up to 15 different ions, fully automatically: Press a button and walk away.
Quality control of seawater with ion chromatography
At SwissShrimp, the quality of the seawater is determined several times per day, making an efficient and precise analysis method indispensable. Here, ion chromatography (IC) comes into play: IC is a multi-parameter method, which means that various analytes can be determined in just one measurement. In the case of SwissShrimp, the toxic parameters (ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate) that result from the shrimps' biological processes as well as other salt water parameters (e.g. chloride, sodium, magnesium, and many more) are monitored closely using IC.
With Metrohm's IC solution, not only the analysis, but also sample preparation (Inline Ultrafiltration and Inline Dilution) runs fully automatically. Quality control of seawater couldn't be easier!