The US seafood HACCP regulations - Compliance requirements for domestic and imported products

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Regulations became effective December 18, 1997. At that time, all seafood processors, both domestic processors and foreign processors that export to the U.S, must comply with the new regulations. Those firms that are defined by the regulations as a processor must conduct a hazard analysis to determine whether there are food safety hazards that are reasonably likely to occur in the seafood being processed and in the firm's processing. The firm must then develop and implement a HACCP plan if a food safely hazard is determined to exist Processors are also required to perform sanitation control procedures as outlined in the regulations even ifa hazard analysis determines that food safety hazards do not exist. For imported products, the regulations specify special import provisions that the U.S. importers must perform to verify that the foreign processor is operating under the requirements of the I;DA Seafood HACCP Regulations.