Procedures for the Safe and Sanitary Processing and Importing of Fish and Fishery Products

• By: Staff Editor
• Date: November 30, 2016
• Source: ComplianceOnline

Procedures for the Safe and Sanitary Processing and Importing of Fish and Fishery Products

The FDA has established recommendations and regulations to ensure sanitary and safe processing of seafood (fish and fishery products), which includes imported seafood. These regulations mandate applying the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) principles for seafood processing. A preventive system of hazard control, the HACCP principles can be used by food processors to establish the safety of their products for consumers.

FDA has issued these HACCP seafood regulations under various sections of the FD&C Act (Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), including, most significantly, sections 402 (a)(1) and (a)(4) and 701(a) (21 U.S.C. 342 (a)(1) and (a)(4) and 371(a)).

Section 402(a)(1) and (a)(4) of the act states:

• A food is adulterated if it contains or bears any poisonous or deleterious substance that may render the food injurious to health.
• A food is adulterated if it has been prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary conditions whereby it may have been contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health.

In effect, the act ensures a far-reaching federal framework and regulations to ensure that human food will not be injurious to health, preventing commerce in adulterated food. This guidance on the Procedures for the Safe and Sanitary Processing and Importing of Fish and Fishery Products will help ensure compliance.

Related Training:

Developing a HACCP Program That is Effective, Appropriate and Compliant