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 The seafood industry — indeed, the food industry as a whole 

 — must be primarily responsible for the safety and quality of 

 the food that it produces. The regulator's primary role should 

 be to verify that the industry is meeting this responsibility 

 and to take remedial action when it is not. 



D. Import Examination: Overview 



Nearly 60 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is 

 imported. The number of U.S. Customs entries for seafood is 

 approaching 200,000 annually. FDA is committed to ensuring 

 that imported seafood products meet the same standards that are 

 required of domestic products. 



Our import inspection procedure is as follows: FDA reviews the 

 entry documents received from Customs for all seafood entries. 

 The Agency then decides whether to release, visually examine, 

 or sample a given shipment. If FDA samples the product and it 

 is found to be violative, the shipment is detained, and the 

 importer has the choice of reconditioning the product (that is, 

 bringing the article into compliance, if this can be done), 

 destroying it, or reexporting it. If FDA approves the 

 Importer's proposed reconditioning procedure, the 

 reconditioning may then proceed under FDA supervision. If the 

 reconditioning is successful, FDA may release the goods; if 



