U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) introduced a bill this past week that would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure the safety of imported seafood. According to the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA), which supports the bill, S. 190 increases inspection standards on foreign imported seafood, requires
Continue Reading Louisiana Senator’s Bill Seeks to Enhance the Safety of Imported Seafood

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to Jin Han International, Inc., stating that the company is importing fish without processing them in accordance with seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation. According to the letter, the Commerce, CA, company, which is doing business
Continue Reading FDA Warns CA Seafood Importer for Failure to Meet HACCP Regulation

Congress told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require importers, beginning no later than July 2012, to verify the safety of each shipment entering the U.S. Those who relied upon independent private inspections (“3rd party certification”) were to be rewarded with expedited entry through customs. Independent inspections
Continue Reading FDA Moving Too Slowly to Promote Private Inspections

Earlier this month Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran sent a letter to Rebecca Blank, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, asking that the Department “vigorously enforce the antidumping order against frozen fish fillets from Vietnam.” The fish Cochran is concerned about is catfish, and his concerns are not
Continue Reading Catfish Industry Flounders Despite Congressional Support

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday signed a “systems recognition” agreement with New Zealand – the agency’s first formal acknowledgement that a foreign country has a food safety system comparable to the U.S.

In an interview with Food Safety News, Deputy Commissioner for Foods Michael Taylor touted
Continue Reading FDA Names New Zealand First Food Safety System Comparable to US