FDA, NOAA Enhance Efforts to Ensure Safety of Seafood in Gulf of Mexico

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have announced joint efforts to secure the safety of Gulf of Mexico seafood in the wake of the April 20, 2010, oil spill. “It is important to coordinate seafood surveillance efforts on the water, at the docks and at seafood processors to ensure seafood in the market is safe to eat,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a joint press release.

The agencies plan a “multi-pronged approach” that includes precautionary closures of fishing areas, increased seafood testing inspections and a “re-opening protocol” for affected Gulf waters. NOAA has apparently created a “seafood sampling and inspection plan” and is using “ongoing surveillance to evaluate new seafood samples to determine whether contamination is present” outside closed fishing areas. If the samples have elevated levels of oil compounds, NOAA said it will consider expanding the closed areas.

FDA, which initially plans to increase sampling of oysters, crab and shrimp because they retain contaminants longer than finfish, will target seafood processors who buy directly from the harvester as a way to monitor this first step in the distribution chain. A June 14 FDA letter to the fish and fishery products industry outlines regulations and policies regarding the food safety hazards of environmental chemical contaminants. See FDA Joint News Release, June 14, 2010.