National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Food and Drug Administration Continue Ramping up Efforts to Ensure Safety of Gulf of Mexico Seafood

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In a joint announcement June 14, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they are taking additional steps to enhance inspection measures designed to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico reaching America's tables is safe to eat.

The announcement noted that the federal government, in conjunction with Gulf states' regulatory agencies, is playing an active role in ensuring the safety of seafood harvested from federal and state waters. The federal initiative, led by FDA and NOAA, “is taking a multi-pronged approach to ensure that seafood from Gulf waters is not contaminated by oil. The strategy includes precautionary closures, increased seafood testing inspections and a re-opening protocol.”

“Closing harvest waters that could be exposed to oil protects the public from potentially contaminated seafood because it keeps the product from entering the food supply,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Combining the expertise of NOAA and FDA is the best way to use our scientific abilities to help the American people in this emergency.”

To help prevent tainted seafood from reaching the market, NOAA has created a seafood sampling and inspection plan. Just after the beginning of the spill, the agency began collecting and testing seafood of commercial and recreational fish and shellfish species from areas where oil had not yet reached.

The federal effort to ensure that seafood is not contaminated with oil will also include NOAA's dockside sampling of fish products in the Gulf. NOAA will verify that catches were harvested outside the closed area using information from vessel monitoring systems that track the location of a vessel or information from on-board observers. If tainted fish are found in dockside sampling, the NOAA will notify the FDA and state health officials for further action.

The FDA will first target oysters, crab, and shrimp, which, because of their life cycles, retain contaminants longer than finfish. Finfish rapidly metabolize the oil so the risk of exposure is far less than with the mentioned seafood species, FDA officials noted. The sample collection will target primarily seafood processors who buy seafood directly from the harvester. Monitoring this first step in the distribution chain will help to keep any potentially contaminated seafood from consumers.

The FDA has also created a focused inspection assignment designed to help seafood processors review their individual source controls to ensure proper documentation and exclusion of any seafood obtained from unknown sources from entering commerce.

The 2 agencies are also establishing a reopening protocol. The NOAA will reopen closed areas only if it is assured, based on consultation with the FDA, that fish products within the closed area meet FDA standards for public health and wholesomeness. See: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ucm210970.htm#Government. Fig 1.

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• Figure 1. 

  NASA's Terra spacecraft shows two views of oil's invasion of wildlife habitats along the Louisiana coast (June 2010). Photo Credit: NASA.