Significant proposed regulatory changes within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with large layoffs that have occurred across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – which oversees the FDA – could greatly affect seafood importers, processors, and other industry stakeholders in the near future, according to a former FDA seafood specialist.
The recent HHS layoffs, which total nearly 20,000, include personnel with expertise in seafood, traditional foods, and labeling, “leaving the FDA with lack of expertise in these areas,” said Brian Ravitch, a senior regulatory advisor at Washington, D.C., U.S.A.-based law firm Olsson Frank Weeda who also worked at the FDA for 25 years, including time spent as a seafood specialist.
According to Ravitch, the loss of qualified personnel could soon lead to delays in seafood trade. For example, importers’ requests for removal from import alerts and other important functions that affect seafood commerce and the ability to import products into the U.S. may soon take longer to approve.
“As a consultant, I have seen an increase in the time it takes for internal compliance reviews of submissions of testimony for violations observed during inspection and also requests for removal from import alerts concerning foods, including seafood,” Ravitch said. “Since many are being reviewed by food experts within specific departments of the FDA, such as the Office of Seafood Safety and Human Food Program, there are real concerns regarding time frames due to the loss of personnel.”
Elsewhere within the administration, the FDA recently suspended a quality control program for its food testing laboratories, according to an internal email attained by Reuters.
The FDA's Food Emergency Response Network’s proficiency testing program ensures consistency and accuracy across the agency's network of labs, which tests food for pathogens and contaminants to prevent foodborne illness, per Reuters...
