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 the States in the regulation of seafood are crucial to the 

 overall success of the collective Federal/State program. 

 Together, we estimate that the total outlay by Federal, State, 

 and local regulatory bodies for the regulation of seafood 

 exceeds $100 million per year. 



State roles include the operation of programs for the safety of 

 molluscan shellfish, inspection of processors, and inspection 

 of the hundreds of thousands of retail and food service 

 establishments that are involved with seafood nationwide. FDA 

 works with the States by providing funds (although 

 unfortunately these have decreased recently) , participating in 

 Federal/State cooperative organizations such as the Interstate 

 Shellfish Sanitation Conference and the Conference for Food 

 Protection, and by providing technical support, training, and 

 information. 



I. Federal/State Activities: Molluscan Shellfish 



One of the keystones of FDA's Federal/State program is the 

 National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) . The NSSP is a 

 Federal/State/ industry endeavor, involving 23 shellfish 

 producing states and 9 foreign governments, that was 

 ••tablished for the purpose of exercising sanitary control over 

 all aspects of growing, harvesting, shucking, packing, and 

 interstate transportation of molluscan shellfish. The 



