Client Focus
On 25 June 2010, the Director General of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP) signed Decision No. 1150 on granting Geographical Indication (GI) Certificate No. 00019 for the product “MẮM TÔM HẬU LỘC” (HAU LOC SHRIMP PASTE). The People’s Committee of Hậu Lộc District has become management organization of GI Hậu Lộc for the product Hậu Lộc shrimp paste.
Hậu Lộc shrimp paste is made from a kind of sea small shrimps which has scientific name acetes japonicus fished from Hậu Lộc sea of Thanh Hoa province, and salt. Shrimp paste industry has existed for age-long period, stretches back to the establishing of fishing village Diêm Phố in 12th century. Hậu Lộc shrimp paste has special flavor, characteristic aroma, smooth sweet taste so it not only has reputation on domestic market but also on international markets. So far, Hậu Lộc shrimp paste has been exported to Russia, France, and Czech Republic etc.
The reputation of Hậu Lộc shrimp paste is attributed to its typical characteristics which make Hau Loc Shrimp paste completely different from shrimp paste originating from other localities. Gourmets believe Hậu Lộc shrimp paste is delicious and attractive thanks to its own characteristic taste. Residents in Hậu Lộc believe the acetes japonicus is the secret of this special taste – the main raw material for producing shrimp paste.
The Hậu Lộc shrimp paste has the following organoleptic characteristics:
– Color: pink brown;
– Smell: natural aroma with characteristics of mature shrimp paste; no fishy, stale, odd odours.
– Taste: strong, post-sweet, non-intense, and non-acrid.
– Status: smooth, with no unrefined salt,thick, capable of heaping up then go down;
– Impurities: not be jumbled together other seafood such as: fish, shrimp, crab, snail, cuttlefish etc.; with no parts of dead insect: bumblebee… and other foreign bodies such as strands of hair, grass and dirt etc.
Physicochemical standards:
Hậu Lộc shrimp paste has a total content of nitrogen no less than 20gN/kg; content of ammonia nitrogen… no more than 4gN/kg; the content of natri clorua is in the range of 230-250 g/kg; the content of water is no more than 600g/kg; sand and grit are no more than 2g/kg.
The reputation, characteristics and typical quality of the Hậu Lộc shrimp paste are attributed to the good quality of moi (small shrimp) and traditional processing methods of the fishers at the coastal communes of Hậu Lộc district. The coastal communes which produce shrimp paste are ranged over 12 kilometers between two seaports Lạch Trường and Lạch Sung. These two seaports bring plenty of fleeting organisms which is the food for kinds of fish, shrimp etc including moi. As a result, the moi living at seaport can grow quickly and has higher quality than those which originating from other localities. The sea water of these seaports has low level of salt, ranging from 22-28‰ because it is diluted by freshwater flowing from the inside of the seaports. So, at fishing season, from September to December, the moi has thin shell, firm, full, with low level of water in its flesh; its size is from 11-22 millimeters.
Besides the characteristics of the raw material (moi), Hậu Lộc has also age-long and well-known tradition of producing shrimp paste. Residents at Hậu Lộc district have rich experiences in producing traditional shrimp paste. Specially, households, producing firms at Hậu Lộc have been inherited experiences in selecting raw material,level of salt varying with quality of the moi. In addition,careful attentions paid at all processing phases have brought attractive aroma, strong sweet-taste and characteristic color for unique Hậu Lộc shrimp taste which can not be obtained any elsewhere.
Geographical territories include: communes Đa Lộc, Ngư Lộc, Minh Lộc, Hưng Lộc, Hải Lộc, Hoà Lộc of Hậu Lộc district of Thanh Hoá province.