137 



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 13 



expanded by government agencies and the health professions. 



• For specific contaminants in particular species from high-risk domestic or 

 foreign geographic areas, government agencies should consider the option of mandatory 

 labeling. 



• Additional study of potential chemical contamination risks associated with 

 both domestic and imported aquaculture products is required. Because of different 

 standards for drug or agricultural chemical use and water quality prevailing in other 

 countries, imponed aquaculture products should be effectively cenified as meeting U.S. 

 standards. 



SCOPE AND ADEQUACY OF CURRENT SEAFOOD SAFETY PROGRAMS 

 Regulatory Guidelines, Monitoring, and Inspection 



The current system of governance designed to protect the U.S. seafood 

 consumer is composed of an intricate and complementary system of programs at the 

 federal and state levels of government. Additional programs have been instituted in 

 the private sector that offer a measure of industry self-regulation. At the federal level 

 the principal responsibility for setting regulatory guidelines and for the surveillance and 

 control of seafood safety is divided among the FDA, the Environmental Protection 

 Agency (EPA), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 



Within states, responsibility may lie with one or more of their health, 

 environmental, fishery, or agricultural departments. States generally tend to adopt 

 federal regulatory guidelines. 



A primary role for the federal government is setting regulatory guidelines 

 designed to promote inspection and enforcement activities both within and outside 

 formal governmental programs. Existing regulatory guidelines can be divided into (1) 

 those designed to reduce acute risk from microbial and natural toxin contaminants, and 

 (2) those designed to reduce long-term or chronic risk due to chemical contamination. 

 Guidelines for microorganisms and natural toxins are determined solely by the FDA 

 and have been set primarily on an as-needed basis, that is, in response to a reponed 

 public health problem. 



Properly collated and effectively presented guidelines could provide a strong 

 basis for the production and supply of safe seafood. However, in several areas related 

 to new processing techniques and other emerging problems, new guidelines seem both 

 appropriate and necessary. Setting federal guidelines for residual chemical 

 contaminants is a task shared by EPA and FDA. Their strategy has been to focus on 

 a limited number of chemical contaminants and to set regulatory limits by means of 

 "action levels." Results of various federal and state efforts to monitor contaminant 

 loads in the nation's marine and freshwater environments suggest strongly that several 

 chemicals require a more fundamental review and evaluation. 



In terms of assessing and managing risks, the overall posture of relevant federal 

 agencies, particularly FDA, appears to be almost totally reactive. In the committee's 

 judgment, there has been less effort than would be desirable to discover and quantify 

 hazards that are not yet on the public agenda, to evaluate options for reducing risks, 

 and to implement policies that protect both the health of consumers and the stability 

 of commercial markets. 



