FDA Detains Tuna Imports, But Hardly Inspects Abroad

News 14:11 30/03/2012

(atuna.com) Shipments from six tuna manufacturers have been detained at U.S. ports within the last five months, according to the FDA. One major canned tuna exporter is being affected. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found tuna products from processors in Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Panama did not meet U.S. food and safety regulations.

In their Feb. 17 import alert, the FDA indicated frozen tuna from Indonesia’s Super Saku Bali and canned tuna from the Philippines’ General Tuna Corp were refused entry in November because of decomposition and histamines. Similarly, the FDA’s March 9 import alert shows Indonesia’s Indomaguro Tunas Unggul, South Korea’s Ottogi SF Corporation, and Panama’s Green Bay International, S.A., all made the Red List within the last three months for violating the seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). Tuna from Indonesia’s Sig Asia was also flagged for detention because its Californian importer, SevenSeas Seafoods Inc, was not up to standard in October. Once a company is Red-listed, its products are automatically detained at U.S. ports until the processor can prove it meets the U.S. food safety standards, a so-called “auto detention”. An “auto detention” usually creates a disruption of a smooth logistic process during the import into the country, thus creating problems for both the importer and the exporter.  Especially in case of exporters moving large quantities to the USA this can depress business activity. “If there are recurring issues with a company, then that’s what generates the import alert,” said FDA spokesman Doug Karas. Import alerts are protective measures, he said, that are installed because a trend has been noticed.  The U.S. imports about 85 percent of its seafood and they are working to improve the food safety of their imports. Last year, Congress passed a new law that requires the FDA to inspect more foreign food processing facilities. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act, the FDA had to inspect 600 foreign food facilities in 2011 and it is obligated to double those inspections every year for the next five years. In its July 2011 report, the FDA said the ultimate goal might not be attainable. “It would be impossible for FDA to complete 19,200 foreign food inspections in year six without a substantial increase in resources or a complete overhaul in the way it operates,” the report said. In 2010, the FDA only inspected 357 of the 254,088 active registered foreign facilities.

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FDA Detains Tuna Imports, But Hardly Inspects Abroad

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