DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES | Public Health Service Food and Drug Administration |
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January 17, 2002
To All Interested Parties: The purpose of this letter is to provide information about recently enacted legislation and the names of certain fish that may be offered for importation into the United States. Recently enacted Public Law 107-76, "The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2002" contains the following language: "Sec. 775. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act to the Food and Drug Administration shall be used to allow admission of fish or fishery products labeled wholly or in part as "catfish" unless the products are taxonomically from the family Ictaluridae." Food and Drug Administration guidance ("The Seafood List, FDA’s Guide to Acceptable Market Names for Seafood Sold in Interstate Commerce 1993" as updated) list a number of fish other than from the family Ictaluridae with the term "catfish" in their names. There is considerable interest in both the importing and regulatory communities about labels for these fish when in U.S. commerce. The governing statute for the naming of food is the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Under section 403 of that act (21 U.S.C. 343), a food is misbranded if, among other things, its labeling is false or misleading in any particular, it is offered for sale under the name of another food, or its label fails to bear the common or usual name of the food, if any there be. In the United States, commercial, edible fish are typically sold to consumers under common or usual names that are different from their Latin, taxonomic names. For example, fish in the family Ictaluridae bear common or usual names such as Catfish, Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, and others. FDA has issued regulations at 21 CFR 102.5 that provide general principles for common or usual names for foods. A common or usual name must accurately identify or describe, in as simple and direct terms as possible, the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties or ingredients. It may be a "coined name," created for the purpose of naming the food. It may not be confusingly similar to the name of any other food that is not reasonably encompassed within the same name. FDA’s regulations provide that a common or usual name may be established by common usage or by establishment of a regulation. As a practical matter, however, common or usual names for foods tend to be established through common usage. FDA's "Seafood List," mentioned previously, provides agency guidance on common or usual names for fish that meet the provisions of 21 CFR 102. Those non-Ictalurid species that have been listed in the Seafood List as having common or usual names containing the term "catfish," and are thus affected by the new legislation, are as follows:
Importers whose products have alternative common or usual names that do not contain the term "catfish" should consider using those alternative names. If no such alternative name exists, importers may want to consider developing other names for these fish by following the principles in 21 CFR 102.5. In applying those principles to this situation, importers should keep the following in mind:
Although pre-review or rulemaking by FDA is not required for the use of names, FDA is available as always to consult on whether a name might be false or misleading or otherwise violative. Individuals who wish to consult with FDA on whether a proposed name might or might not misbrand a fish in accordance with the statute and regulations may do so by contacting: Ms. Spring Randolph
Telephone: 301-436-2301
FDA will make every effort to post on the internet new names for fish that are the subject of this letter. The purpose of this posting will be to provide information that might be help avoid the proliferation of contradictory or otherwise confusing names for the same fish. The posting will not be offered as agency guidance or as part of the Seafood List, although the names may be eventually incorporated into the Seafood List as appropriate.
Sincerely yours,
(also available in PDF; 441 Kb) The latest version of this letter issued on February 28, 2003. Updated Guidance for Industry on Labeling of Catfish was issued in December 2002. |
Last updated on 2005-OCT-19 by frf