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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15 



-• The present federal monitoring and inspection system is too limited in 

 frequency and direction to ensure enhanced safety of seafoods. The monitoring 

 process depends too much on evaluation of the product, rather than on safety of raw 

 niaterials, with the single notable exception of the NSSP. However, even NSSP is not 

 providing adequate protection because moliuscan shellfish appear to cause most 

 scafood-bome disease. 



• Recreational and subsistence fishing is largely ignored in health and safety 

 monitoring at the federal level. Consumers of seafood from these sources can be at 

 high risk from natural toxins and chemical pollutants in certain regions and in 

 particular species of fish. TTie health risks include cancer and the subtle impairment 

 of neurological development in fetuses and children. 



• The present system of data collection on seafood-borne illness by CDC docs 

 not provide an adequate picture of the extent and causes of such disease. 



• Seafood advisories warning of local or species-associated health risks are 

 issued mostly by state authorities and vary greatly in both their content and their 

 distribution. Nevertheless, these advisories serve a useful purpose. 



• Because of the regional nature of much of the domestic fisheries problems, 

 states seem the logical level at which to tackle seafood control problems. However, 

 help and guidance from the federal level are required. 



• State programs for monitoring, surveillance, and control of seafood safety are 

 generally in place in coastal states that use federal guidelines and action levels where 

 these are available. However, the quality and effectiveness of the programs vary 

 greatly as a function of the financial and administrative support available to the 

 responsible state units, and in accordance with the character of the resource. A 

 greater emphasis should be placed on the development of formal arrangements with 

 foreign producers to guarantee that imported seafood has been harvested and 

 processed in noncontaminated environments. 



• Present training and education of industry and regulatory personnel are too 

 limited both in scope and in number. Insufficient attention is given to the education 

 of physicians and other health professionals on seafood safety and the characteristics 

 of seafood-borne disease. This is also true of the consuming public. 



• The regulation of imported seafoods to ensure safety is largely based on end 

 product inspection and testing, except where MOUs exist. This is ineffective because 

 it involves a mainly reactive process. 



• The regulation of imported seafood products is carried out largely without 

 regard to other national or international programs. There is tremendous variance in 

 both regulatory limits for contaminants and inspection protocols in various countries, 

 which leads to excessive and cumbersome inspection strategies for the imponing state, 

 and may also lead to a general reduction in the number of countries engaged in 

 international seafood trade in the future. 



Principal Recommendations 



• A more concise, comprehensive, and generally available single source for all 

 FDA guidelines relating to seafood safety should be developed and updated on a 

 regular basis. This information should be disseminated to industry and integrated into 

 stale regulatory processes through more routine and uniform training programs. 



