This is NOT good for us. FDA May Entrust China More With Ensuring Safety Of Seafood Exports: Official The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in the near term may decrease port-of-entry inspections of farm-raised seafood from China and increasingly entrust Chinese authorities with verifying that the countrys aquaculture exports are free of illegal animal drug residues, according to a senior agency official. Mike Taylor, FDAs deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine, said in a Nov. 12 interview that he expects the agency to act fairly soon to lift existing FDA import alerts on Chinese seafood, which require shipments to be physically inspected before they are allowed into U.S. commerce. FDA would in turn rely more on Chinas General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) to ensure seafood bound for the United States meets U.S. laws and regulations, he said. Taylor stressed that the move -- which does not require a formal rulemaking procedure -- does not mean that FDA would rely completely on AQSIQ, as some level of U.S. inspections would continue. He also made clear that this does not mean FDA is close to full systems recognition of Chinas food safety procedures generally, but only for farm-raised seafood. But Taylor characterized the expected step as putting increased confidence in Chinese authorities based on years of ongoing bilateral efforts, in order to improve the flow of trade. Given that weve got a number of import alerts for seafood coming from China because of the animal drug issue, our ability to get confidence in their system is a way to manage a way through and pass those import alerts potentially so we can facilitate trade in safe food. But knowing that its safe and lawful here is the fundamental prerequisite, Taylor said. We can do that with our own port-of-entry efforts. And well continue that at an appropriate level. But if we can strengthen those assurance for the work the Chinese are doing, thats all to the good as well, he added. I think were moving towards that. Theres a potential for in the fairly near term to reach some conclusions. Taylors comments come after a trip to Beijing and Shanghai that coincided with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings. While there, Taylor said he had a full day of meetings with AQSIQ officials and other Chinese authorities. Just prior to his trip, a team of FDA experts was also in China to assess the countrys system for monitoring seafood, he said. Shipments of seafood such as shrimp, eel, catfish and tilapia from China are subject to FDA import alerts because of past problems with the presence of unapproved drug residues. These include substances like malachite green, which is a suspected carcinogen that is sometimes used in aquaculture to fend off fungus, and has not been approved by FDA. China is not the only country subject to these import alerts. Companies from India, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, and Vietnam are subject to similar restrictions. In a Nov. 5 speech in Shanghai, Taylor put the joint work on farm-raised seafood in the context of a broader regulatory cooperation agreement on food and feed between FDAs parent agency, the Department of Health & Human Services, and AQSIQ. That agreement was reached after a 2007 incident in which pet foods from China were found to have been intentionally laden with the industrial chemical melamine. We are committed to the success of this agreement and, working with our Chinese counterparts, we have made real progress in the exchange of regulatory and technical information, laboratory improvement and harmonization, training on U.S. practices for Chinese inspectors and food companies, and mutual understanding. This effort is aimed at enabling FDA to consider AQSIQs oversight in making entry decisions for food shipments from China, Taylor said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. The deputy commissioner said that in addition to farm-raised seafood, other areas of focus include pet food and low-acid canned foods. He characterized all of these as works in progress and said that the legal, regulatory and technical gaps between our systems are challenging. But he added that he believes they can be bridged with sustained effort. Taylor said that, in order to expedite the building of mutual understanding and confidence, the agency hopes to expand its physical presence in China. Today, FDA has only four full-time China-based staff who focus on food safety issues, but we hope to increase that number to 12, he said. Daily News, Vol. 32, No. 45
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:14:05 +0000
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