COMMENTARY
INTERVIEW
SPECIALS
CHAT
ARCHIVES

New US seafood inspection rules will hit India

The United States will introduce a new seafood inspection programme with effect from December 18, which will require India and other exporting countries to adopt the same rigorous system to sell their product in the American market.

The US Food and Drug Administration, which made this announcement in Washington on December 9, said the new programme was based on the hazard analysis critical control point (haccp) system. It was originally developed by the Pillsbury company to ensure safe food for astronauts in space.

Under the new regulation, US imports are also required to verify that their overseas suppliers have adopted haccp system to ensure that all seafood shipments have gone through the same rigorous procedures.

Last year, the US imported some 3,169 billion pounds of seafood products (valued at 6.8 billion) of which 65 million pounds came from India. The US exported 2.12 billion pounds (valued at 3.03 billion) of edible products in the same year.

FDA Director Phil Spiller said the administration would adopt flexible attitude towards the small-size exporters in developing countries, including India. ''We will give concessions to those who will try to put in place the new inspection system,'' he added.

He said imports in the US would have several options. He could adopt third-party inspection of shipment in an exporting country or he himself could go there for an inspection and product samplings.

He admitted that it was going to be a new burden for the US importing firms. But, it would benefit consumers, he added.

He, however, said the new programme was considered to be a state-of-the-art inspection system and was recommended for adoption by the food industry by the US National Academy of Sciences.

Richard E Gutting, executive vice president of the National Fisheries Institute, said ''The US seafood industry welcomes the beginning of the FDA's new inspection system in the country.''

The haccp system requires companies to identify and assess the key stages in seafood processing and handling where food safety problems are reasonably likely to occur.

Control measures are established at these ''critical control points'' which are the monitored to ensure that problems do not occur. This approach is different from other inspection programmes that rely heavily on an evaluation of products after they have been processed.

The commercial seafood industry in the US directly employs more than 250,000 people and contributes more than 41 billion to the economy which include 27.8 billion in expenditures at food service establishments and 13.2 billion at the retail level.

Official sources here said that the US was not alone in recognising the importance of haccp in assuring a safe seafood supply. Other large seafood consuming and producing nations have also implemented or will soon implement inspection systems based haccp principles.

EARLIER REPORT:
EU team 'satisfied' with hygiene level at fish processing units

UNI