Contact: Gordon Helm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/11/96
Van Camp Seafood Company Inc. is the first tuna processor to launch a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points quality assurance system with the Voluntary Fishery Products Inspection Program, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced today.
"Van Camp's processing plant in American Samoa, which processes Chicken of the Sea' tuna, has adopted the voluntary HACCP program offered by the fisheries service. This program includes control over all aspects of safety, wholesomeness, quality and proper labeling of the seafood produced at the facility. It also goes beyond the Food and Drug Administration's program, which focuses only on safety and will not be implemented for at least another year," said Richard V. Cano, chief of the voluntary program.
"By incorporating this inspection program into its tuna processing facility, Van Camp Seafood is demonstrating its commitment to food safety and product quality," Cano said.
The HACCP concept was originally developed for the NASA space program during the early 1970's to ensure food safety for astronauts. The fisheries service's HACCP inspection program identifies hazards associated with the safety, wholesomeness and economic integrity of seafood products. Control points are established for these hazards and constantly monitored by the participant with corrective action taken if problems occur.
Participants must demonstrate control of processing handling and storing operations through close monitoring and record-keeping activities audited by NMFS inspectors.
According to Dan Sullivan, Van Camp Seafood senior vice president of production operations, Chicken of the Sea's HACCP program monitors quality and safety at eight critical points, beginning at dockside when the fish are brought off the boats and continuing through the canning process -- from cleaning to labeling and casing.
"HACCP represents the most significant change toward food safety in the past 50 years," said Steven Otwell, Ph.D, University of Florida scientist and member of the Seafood Alliance that established the HACCP training protocol. "It is the inspection model for food safety in the future."
"Van Camp is ahead of the curve not only for seafood but all foods," said Otwell. "They should be commended for their leadership in the seafood industry."
Van Camp Seafood becomes the only tuna processor approved by the federal government to produce canned tuna for the United States market bearing the "processed under federal inspection" seal. Consumers and restaurant operators will begin seeing this seal on Chicken of the Sea' cans early this spring.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Commerce Department agency.