April 7, 2008

SIP requests for seafood inspection certification, approval could benefit China
 

A third-party inspection service could soon be put in place in the Seafood Inspection Program (SIP) to ensure that seafood sold in the US are up to standard, according to Timothy Hansen, director of the SIP, which is under The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The SIP is now working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to acquire an FDA certification for the service, said Hansen, who hoped that the auditing process would be completed by this summer.

The move would help Chinese seafood firms whose fish exports are blocked under an import alert after antibiotic residues were found in five types of Chinese farm-raised seafood last year. An import alert would be lifted if new products prove to be safe after five testing by private laboratories.

If the FDA approves SIP as a valid third-party inspector, its tests could certify Chinese companies under an import alert to have clean shipments.

However, the problem is that FDA has not yet certified any third-party labs, according to Benjamin England, a former FDA official. He added that there is currently no way the Chinese importers could lift their alerts unless they take legal action. England also has his doubts on whether the certification will pass through, as the FDA had consistently delayed certifying SIP before.

Meanwhile, the FDA is working to certify China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) as a third-party inspector, according to sources.

SIP certifies about one third of the seafood consumed domestically. It has 377 domestic company participants and about 50 foreign company participants.

SIP currently operates a voluntary inspection service for seafood companies and retailers to ensure product safety and standard.