HHS NEWS

P97-44                        FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         Judith Foulke:      202 205-4144  
Dec. 18, 1997                 Arthur Whitmore:    202 205-4144
                             
                              Consumer Inquiries: 800-532-4440

FDA/SEAFOOD INDUSTRY FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVE GOES INTO FULL EFFECT

The Clinton Administration announced that as of today the seafood industry has initiated a new system of controls designed to enhance seafood safety. This industry-wide system, called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), is the culmination of two years of close cooperation among the Food and Drug Administation, the seafood industry and state health officials.

"Today we are taking another step to improve the safety of our nation's seafood by following a simple lesson - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Vice President, Al Gore said. "That's what HACCP does. It takes the best science and the best preventive controls to make our food supply the world's safest."

The implementation of this state-of-the-art approach to food safety is the latest step in the Administration's continuing commitment to guard the nation's food supply against sources of food borne illnesses.

HACCP is a science-based system that requires processors to identify potential hazards that could cause food to be unsafe to eat, to establish and monitor targeted control points to minimize such risks, and to keep records of the results. All seafood processors will continue to be monitored under FDA surveillance and inspection programs as well as state regulators. But with the new rules, HACCP monitoring records will enable inspectors to review the processors' performance over time, not just at the moment of inspection.

"The new seafood HACCP program enhances the safety of America's seafood supply -- both from domestic and foreign sources," said Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "Improving food safety is a high priority for this Administration, and adoption of HACCP for seafood is a major step. It also serves as a working model for future food industry and government cooperative ventures to more effectively safeguard the food supply."

HACCP safeguards apply to all (foreign and domestic based) seafood processors marketing products in interstate commerce within the United States. While this program does not directly apply to fishing vessels or transporters, seafood processors must take responsibility for the safe condition of incoming fish obtained from vessels and transporters. For example, if the supplier does not provide satisfactory information about the area where the fish were caught or handled, the HACCP rules strengthen the processor's position in refusing to accept the shipment.

"Consumers expect safe and wholesome seafood. Thanks to the extraordinary level of cooperation and commitment of both government and industry, an important milestone has been taken in optimizing the safety of America's seafood supply," said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., Lead Deputy FDA Commissioner.

Definative seafood HACCP regulations were published Dec. 18, 1995. Today's effective date, two years later, gave firms the time they needed to fully understand the new rules, evaluate their particular circumstances and to establish their HACCP plans. During the two year period, thousands of individuals including members of the seafood industry, FDA, state and local regulators, foreign regulatory officials, as well as representatives from academia joined in training sessions to facilitate implementation of the new rules.

Today's milestone reflects the first application of HACCP over such a wide component of the food supply. Similar rules for the meat and poultry industry, enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, become phase-in on January 26, 1998.

It is hoped that many of the lessons learned from the seafood HACCP experience can be applied to enhancing the safety of other aspects of the food supply. Toward this end, FDA announced earlier this year its intent to establish HACCP for the fruit and vegetable juice industry and to publish an interim regulation requiring a warning statement on products that have not undergone a process to prevent or eliminate harmful bacteria.

This effort was also prompted by several outbreaks of illnesses in recent years from pathogenic microbes including, E.Coli 0157.H7, in fresh juice products. Until the HACCP plans for the juice industry are implemented, FDA has asked the industry to voluntarily label unpasteurized juice products with a statement of risk.

In addition a number of food firms around the country have volunteered to participate in an FDA pilot program started in 1994 to test the possibility and effectiveness of HACCP programs in their segments of the industry. The first and second FDA interim reports on these pilot programs are available at http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/haccp-1.html on FDA's Website.

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