The Global Aquaculture Alliance is in the driver's seat to become the United States' go-to third-party certifier of imported farmed seafood. Last week, the St. Louis-based organization announced its partnership with a leading farmed seafood trade association in China to promote sustainable aquaculture there. If it can close that deal, then it should be able to win over the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
During the inaugural Import Safety Summit in Washington, D.C., in July, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt announced a program to test and evaluate third-party certification systems for farmed shrimp. As part of the new federal import safety strategy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began drafting guidance for third-party certification programs to ensure that certified aquaculture products meet FDA requirements. The government hoped the program would enhance FDA's worldwide reach.
The recent partnership with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Aquatic Production Chamber of Commerce (APCC), is just the latest step in the GAA's growth to global prominence. Its Best Aquaculture Practices - which include standards for food safety, social and environmental impacts, animal welfare and traceability - provide a respectable framework for certifying shrimp, catfish and tilapia production, including hatcheries, farms and processing facilities. (By the way, China is the global leader in producing those three products.)
Despite last year's import alert on five species of farmed seafood from China, including shrimp and catfish, many consumers lost faith in the FDA's ability to protect the U.S. food supply. The media exposed the federal agency's shortcomings in terms of manpower and funding, so it turned to the private sector for assistance.
This is not the FDA outsourcing its work or allowing China to police itself. This is the FDA recognizing its strengths and weaknesses and the proper way to improve food safety: Doing the bulk of the work before the product ever reaches a cargo container, let alone U.S. shores. As Leavitt has said before, we can't inspect our way to safety. Imported products - and the processes that create them - should be monitored at their origin, not shortly before sale to consumers. Third-party certification is the assurance this important work has been done.
Considering the volume of seafood produced in China and exported around the world, major efforts should start there. The GAA has already done some of the important legwork.
