RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Some of the features associated with certain seafood — oysters and shellfish in particular — are increased libido, being an aphrodisiac, and having rejuvenating properties. The sea water of the marine farms in Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, is outstanding for its excellent vitamin content.
The fruit of desire of refined palates — the oyster — is a food rich in omega 3, omega 6, zinc, vitamin B, and protein, with a low amount of fat (around two to three percent).
“The amount of zinc in 100 grams of oysters represents 1,500 percent of a human’s daily requirement. Zinc is an important mineral in the production of testosterone and progesterone in men and women. That’s why it is said to be an aphrodisiac”, emphasizes Alexandre Paupitz, food engineer and technical director of the “Ostravagante” marine farm, in the south part of Florianópolis Island.
The clean and clear waters are among the factors contributing to the oysters of Santa Catarina being considered outstanding, with fish bouncing visibly and little temperature oscillation. The location is isolated, with few houses and no industry.
“Florianópolis is a propitious area for the cultivation of bivalve mollusks. Here we grow the Perna-Perna mussel, the Brazilian mussel, and the oyster, a Pacific oyster of Japanese origin called Crassostrea Gigas,” says Paupitz.
The production of oysters at the Ostravagante Farm is around 200 thousand dozens per year, and the mussels come to 90 tonnes per year. The domestic market, especially São Paulo, takes 80 percent of production.
However, production could be five times higher. Bureaucracy is hampering the expansion of the market, and “there is a lack of comprehensive legislation for exports, in terms of water monitoring, and types of tests,” says food engineer Alexandre Paupitz.
He points out that “a plan is being drawn up by mariculture producers to standardize the activity in Brazil following the largest markets in the world, such as the European Union and the United States,” he says, emphasizing that “bureaucracy is the greatest hindrance.”
Investment
We can “produce four or five times more, place more modern systems. The export issue is only stalled because of what the government needs to do. However, with investment, with training, we can undoubtedly export. The demand is high, we already have orders, but for these reasons, an absence of agreements of equivalence with other countries, we are still restricted to the domestic market.”
Logistics
Domestic transportation, despite the continental size of Brazil, is performed in a matter of only a few hours. “The bivalve mollusk is alive. The mussel’s two days old, the oyster’s four days old. The time it takes for the mollusk to leave the water and arrive at a large city, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, or even Fortaleza in Ceará, is around 24 to 36 hours. Within 36 hours many of our customers already have our product on the table,” says Paupitz.