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For Immediate Release
04/24/08
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Joe Brenckle - Republican Press Office 202-224-3991
Jenilee Keefe w/Inouye 202-224-7824
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Senate Commerce Committee Approves Inouye-Stevens Legislation to Address Seafood Safety
Bill Will Expand NOAA’s Authority to Coordinate with FDA on Seafood Imports |
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WASHINGTON D.C. – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to improve seafood safety in the United States. The bill (S.2688) would establish a federal program to ensure commercially distributed seafood in America is fit for consumption.
This measure would expand the authority of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) so the agency could work closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test seafood imports, inspect foreign seafood facilities, and track domestic seafood shipments. The bill would also expand the authority of the FDA to hold seafood imports that are suspected of being contaminated for further testing. Funding to implement the program has been authorized at $15 million through 2013 and would allow for additional laboratories to analyze imported seafood.
“This bill will provide NOAA and the FDA with tools to ensure that seafood imports meet the same strict safety standards as our domestic seafood,” said Senator Stevens. “When tainted seafood enters the U.S. market, it hurts consumer confidence in all seafood products. Every year, nearly half of our domestic fishery production comes from the waters off Alaska, and our seafood has set the standard in quality. It is vital to both consumers and our fishing industry that all seafood consumed in America is safe and healthy.”
The bill will specifically:
- require the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into an agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) to work together to create an infrastructure that would provide a better system for importing safe seafood;
- include provisions specifying how the two Departments would work together to:
- Examine and test imported seafood,
- Inspect foreign facilities,
- Provide technical assistance and training to foreign facilities and governments,
- Expedite seafood imports from countries with consistently high standards,
- Generate a shipment tracking system,
- Create labeling requirements,
- Commission NOAA officers and employees to examine seafood,
- Share information concerning non-compliance and new regulation ,
- Conduct joint training on subjects related to seafood inspection
- increase the number of laboratories certified by the Food and Drug Administration to analyze seafood both in the United States and in foreign nations that export seafood to the United States;
- increase the number and/or capacity of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratories that are involved with the National Marine Fisheries Service Seafood Inspection Program;
- set up a strict procedure for dealing with cases where contaminated shipments are found entering the United States or there is reliable evidence suggesting that seafood from a given country is not likely to meet federal standards. It would allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to refuse imported contaminated seafood and/or request increased testing of seafood originating from countries where there is reasonable evidence of contamination. It would then allow individual shipments to be admitted into the United States if there was laboratory evidence that the shipment meets the requirements of federal law;
- authorize the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to send inspectors overseas to assess the methods used by seafood exporters to ensure that they are compatible with federal law; and
- authorize the appropriation of $15,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2009 through 2013 to implement the provisions of this Act.
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For audio of Senator Stevens discussing the seafood safety legislation, please click here:
http://src.senate.gov/public/_files/radio/stevensseafood4_24_08.mp3
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current Press Release |
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