Background

• Definition of Seafood
• Overview of Seafood Program (also available in other languages)
• Office of Seafood Organization
• Consumer Advice and Toll Free Information Line: 1-888-SAFEFOOD
• Testimony May 22, 1996 before Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, Committee on Agriculture US House of Representatives

Foodborne Pathogens and Contaminants

• Fresh and Frozen Seafood: Selecting and Serving it Safely August 2006
• Methylmercury
  • FDA and EPA Announce the Revised Consumer Advisory on Methylmercury in Fish March 19, 2004
    • What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish March 19, 2004 (also available as a brochure)
    • Backgrounder for the 2004 FDA/EPA Consumer Advisory: What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish March 19, 2004
    • Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish March 19, 2004; Updated January 2006
    • Mercury in Fish: FDA Monitoring Program (1990-2004) March 19, 2004; Updated January 2006
    • Methylmercury in Fish - Summary of Key Findings from Focus Groups about the Methylmercury Advisory March 2005
  • FDA Announces Comprehensive Foods Advisory on Methylmercury December 10, 2003
    • Draft Advice for Women Who are Pregnant, or Who Might Become Pregnant, and Nursing Mothers, about Avoiding Harm to Your Baby or Young Child From Mercury in Fish and Shellfish December 2003
    • Overview of the Draft FDA/EPA Methylmercury (MeHg) Consumer Advisory December 2003
    • Peer Review of "An Intervention Analysis of Exposure to Methylmercury for Consumption of Seafood" August 2003
    • An Intervention Analysis for the Reduction of Exposure to Methylmercury from the Consumption of Seafood by Women of Child-bearing Age (available in PDF and Word) November 2003
  • FDA and EPA Development of a Joint Advisory for Methylmercury-containing Fish Consumption for Women of Childbearing Age and Children -- July 29-31, 2003
    • Summary of the Main Comments from the Four Meetings
    • Slide Presentation at the Meeting
    • List of Meeting Attendees
  • Background Information on Methylmercury
• Vibrio vulnificus & Vibrio parahaemolyticus
  • FDA Advice to Retail and Foodservice Operations on Raw Oysters Shipped with "For Cooking Only" Label as Part of a Vibrio parahaemolyticus Control Plan August 6, 2008
  • Letter to Health Care Professionals Regarding the Risk of Vibrio vulnificus Septicemia Associated with the Consumption of Raw Oysters June 2005
  • Vibrio vulnificus Health Education Kit March 2004
  • FDA News Bulletin and Talk Paper on Vibrio vulnificus in oysters
    • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Launches Educational Campaign Warning the Hispanic Community about Risks of Eating Raw Oysters June 30, 2003 (also available in Spanish)
  • Raw Oysters Contaminated With Vibrio vulnificus Can Cause Illness and Death June 30, 2003 (also available in Spanish)
  • CDC and FDA Statement on Vibrio parahaemolyticus September 2000
• Drug and Chemical Residues - Methodology
  • Fluoroquinolones
    • Concurrent Determination of Four Fluoroquinolones; Ciprofloxacin, Enrofloxacin, Sarafloxacin and Difloxacin in Atlantic Salmon Tissue by LC with Fluorescence Detection (determinative method for all Fluoroquinolones and all species) (available in PDF, scanned document, 4.26 Mb)  October 24, 2003
    • Confirmation of fluoroquinolone residues in salmon and shrimp tissue by LC/MS: Evaluation of single quadrupole and ion trap instruments: Laboratory Information Bulletin 4298 (confirmatory testing for all Fluoroquinolones and all species) (available in PDF, 207 Kb)  March 2003
    • Confirmation of Fluoroquinolones in Catfish Tissue by Electrospray LC/MS: Laboratory Information Bulletin 4108 (available in PDF, scanned document, 2.25 Mb)   August 1997
  • Malachite Green and Metabolites; Crystal Violet and Brilliant Green
    • Quantitative and Confirmatory Analyses of Malachite Green and Leucomalachite Green Residues in Fish and Shrimp: Laboratory Information Bulletin 4363 (available in PDF, 415 Kb)   November 2005
    • Amendment: Application of Laboratory Information Bulletins 4333 and 4334 for the Determination of Leucomalachite Green and Malachite Green Residues in Catfish, Basa, Tilapia, Trout, and Shrimp    October 2005
    • Determination and Confirmation of Leucomalachite Green in Salmon: Laboratory Information Bulletin 4333 (available in PDF, 193 Kb)  November 2004
    • Determination of Malachite Green and Leucomalachite Green in Salmon with In-Situ Oxidation and Liquid Chromatography with Visible Detection: Laboratory Information Bulletin 4334 (available in PDF, 190 Kb)   November 2004
    • Quantitative and Confirmatory Analyses of Crystal Violet (Gentian Violet) and Brilliant Green in Fish: Laboratory Information Bulletin 4395 May 2008
  • Determination of Melamine Residues in Catfish Tissue by Triple Quadrupole LC-MS-MS with HILIC Chromatography May 2007
  • Detection of Nitrofuran Metabolites in Shrimp April 1, 2004
  • Chloramphenicol and related compounds: Methods for detection of residues in foods  July 2003
• Puffer Fish
  • FDA Provides Advice on Safe Sources of Puffer Fish October 17, 2007
    • Consumer Advisory: Only Eat Puffer Fish from Known Safe Sources (also available in Spanish)
    • Industry Advisory (also available in Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese)
  • FDA Issues Health Advisory on Puffer Fish from Florida April 15, 2002
• Foodborne Disease: selected chapters from the Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Toxins Handbook (Bad Bug Book)
• Harmful Algae Management and Mitigation (HAMM): 2001 Conference Program  October 2001
• FDA Pesticide Program Residue Monitoring for fish and other products
• Glowing Seafood

HACCP

• Seafood HACCP Web Page
  • Fish & Fisheries Products Hazards & Controls Guidance: 3rd Edition  June 2001
    • Guidance for Industry and FDA: Letter to Seafood Processors that Purchase Grouper, Amberjack, and Related Predatory Reef Species Captured in the Northern Gulf of Mexico February 4, 2008
• FDA's Seafood HACCP Program: Mid-Course Correction
• Guidance for Industry on Refusal of Inspection or Access to HACCP Records Pertaining to the Safe and Sanitary Processing of Fish and Fishery Products  July 18, 2001
• Lists of Foreign Processors of Fish and Fishery Products that have been Approved by their Governments   September 2008

Inspection, Compliance, Imports and Exports

• Enhanced Aquaculture and Seafood Inspection - Report to Congress November 20, 2008
• Draft Guidance: EU Export Certificates
  • Draft Guidance and Protocol for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff: Certification of Fish and Fishery Products for Export to the European Union and European Free Trade Association January 2008
  • Draft Guidance for Industry: Proposed Referral Program from the Food and Drug Administration to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Seafood Inspection Program for the Certification of Live and Perishable Fish and Fishery Products for Export to the European Union and the European Free Trade Association November 22, 2004
    • Comment Period extended December 28, 2004
  • Questions and Answers November 22, 2004
• FDA Increases Sampling of Imported Shrimp and Crayfish (Crawfish)  June 14, 2002
• Critical Steps Toward Safer Seafood
• Decomposition in Seafood
• Economic Deception
  • Definition and examples of economic deception for seafood  December 2004
  • Guidance for Industry: Implementation of Section 403(t) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343(t)) Regarding the Use of the Term "Catfish"  December 2002
  • Letter to Various Seafood Trade Associations Regarding the Labeling of Catfish  February 2003
  • FDA Seafood List
  • Regulatory Fish Encyclopedia (RFE) with photographic images (JPEG) of selected fish
• FDA Inspection References and Compliance References
• Imports and Exports
• FDA Import Alerts and Import Detention Reports
• FDA Product Recalls, Alerts, and Warnings
• European Union (EU) Export Certificates for Fishery/Aquaculture Products and Live Molluscan Shellfish  Updated April 2008
• FDA-European Union (EU) Export Certificate Lists  October 2008
• Inside FDA: Hazardous Duty in the Bering Sea
• Two Companies Caught in Fish Fraud Case
• Summary of Court Decision in United States of America vs. Blue Ribbon Smoked Fish, Inc., et alia  November 20, 2001
• Other Informational Material for Industry and Guidance Documents
• International Activities and Codex

Federal State Programs

• Seafood Safety
• National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish: 2007 Revision
• The National Shellfish Sanitation Program - A Protocol for International Participation
• Shellfish Shippers List (Dynamic -- May be updated daily when new data is available; this data may not reflect the printed ICSSL due to deadline printing requirements.)
• Shellfish Shippers List (Static)

Other Sources of Seafood Information

• www.FoodSafety.gov - Gateway to Government Food Safety Information
• Non-FDA Sources of Seafood Information on the Internet