Safety, Product Development Are Priorities for Seafood Industry

“Some 50,000 seafood professionals from every shrimp producing nation have attended the schools to date,” Dr. Otwell notes. “Each school typically includes about 25 students from industry and two to seven instructors representing academia, USDA, and FDA. In addition to lectures, the sessions are very hands on. We cover how to monitor for bacteria, sensory evaluation, temperature control, as well as product quality, safety, and integrity. These schools are self-sustaining and have worked well to benefit all stakeholders. They are a perfect example of an effective public private partnership.”

Dr. Otwell is quick to point out that, relative to most consumers who become ill after eating seafood, it’s usually because the product is raw, not because of the product itself. “The number one seafood safety problem today is that consumers are not getting enough seafood to eat,” he believes. “As a result, people are lacking the nutritional benefits of fish, a situation that affects us all.”

Public Health Training

Noting that the FDA seafood HACCP regulation turned 21 years old on Dec. 18, 2018, Barry Nash, MS, North Carolina Sea Grant’s (NCSG) seafood technology and marketing specialist, says seafood safety training remains an ongoing need. To that end, he and Jeff French, a regional environmental health specialist with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF), focus on training local health department inspectors and others regarding seafood safety.

“Processors and food distributors are the main wholesale entities that are subject to the seafood HACCP regulation,” Nash points out. “The NCSG and NCDMF developed the North Carolina Seafood Quality and Safety Workshop to focus on seafood safety and handling concerns in restaurants and retail outlets, which the federal rule doesn’t typically cover.”

This annual two-day training program is jointly organized by NCSG, NCDMF, and the North Carolina Environmental Health State of Practice Committee, French relates. “The target audiences are county-based environmental health specialists who regulate restaurants and other retail food establishments and seafood businesses, as well as the general public,” he says.

According to Nash and French, topics presented include harvest methods, proper receiving and handling of seafood products, seafood-borne illnesses, economic fraud, and wholesale and retail HACCP issues. Speakers are federal, state, and local experts in seafood safety and commerce.

Since 1998, more than 600 individuals have attended the workshop.

“This training program is important because new innovations in prepared seafood meals are starting to come from restaurant chefs and community-supported fisheries retailers who are not always familiar with the safety rules that govern the production and distribution of packaged-food products,” Nash emphasizes. “This course provides an overview of the vulnerabilities and control measures that prevent, eliminate, or minimize safety issues from dock to dish.”

Best Aquaculture Practices

The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), Portsmouth, N.H., offers Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification to ensure that seafood products come from facilities that are managed in an environmentally, socially, and economically responsible manner, according to Steve Hedlund, GAA’s communications manager. Founded in 1997, the GAA mission is to promote responsible, sustainable aquaculture practices through education, advocacy, and demonstration. The organization’s membership includes individuals, businesses, non-profits, associations, and government agencies engaged in aquaculture.

“Established in 2002, BAP is the world’s most comprehensive third-party aquaculture certification program, with achievable, science-based, and continuously improved global performance standards addressing environmental responsibility, social responsibility, food safety, animal welfare, and traceability,” Hedlund relates. “It’s also the world’s only third-party certification program encompassing the entire aquaculture production chain. We oversee the standards development process and certification process for hatcheries, farms, feed mills, and processing plants.”

Food safety is a key parameter of all BAP standards, which also include environmental, social, animal health and welfare, and traceability, Hedlund notes.