New York - A federal seafood safety initiative, called the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), went into full effect thie week, two years to the day after it was published.
The initiative contains a system of controls designed to reduce the risks of food poisoning from seafood, including that marketed by both foreign and domestic processors. Over the past two years, those involved in ensuring the safety of seafood, including members of the seafood industry, officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local regulators, and foreign officials have participated in training sessions to help implement the new rules.
These rules include steps that require processors to identify potential hazards that could result in contaminated seafood, to establish control points that assist in such monitoring, and to keep records of the process.
The HACCP system applies to any processor marketing seafood in interstate commerce in the U.S. Under the initiative, the processor must take responsibility for the safe condition of fish delivered from fishing vessels and transporters. The rules strengthen the processor's right to refuse to accept a suspect shipment.
"All seafood processors will continue to be monitored under FDA surveillance and inspection programs as well as state regulators," according to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
"Improving food safety is a high priority for (the Clinton) Administration," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala, "and adoption of HACCP for seafood is a major step. It also serves as a working model for future food industry and government cooperative ventures to more effectively safeguard the food supply."
Similar rules for the meat and poultry industry will be phased in next month, regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The FDA also plans to introduce a separate HACCP system for the fruit and vegetable juice industries. Until these plans are implemented, the FDA has requested these manufacturers to voluntarily label unpasteurized juices with a statement of risk.
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