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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for protecting and promoting the public health by, in part, helping to ensure that  foods, including fish and fishery products, are safe, sanitary, wholesome, and honestly and otherwise properly labeled.  FDA has the authority to establish regulatory standards, inspect facilities, and take action if there are violations, but it is primarily the responsibility of industry to ensure that food products are safe and meet applicable regulatory FDA requirements.

The NOAA Seafood Inspection Program is responsible for the development and advancement of commercial grade standards for fishery products, better health and sanitation standards in the industry, and for furnishing inspection, evaluation, analytical, grading, and certification services to interested parties.  The NOAA Seafood Inspection Program’s major purpose is to encourage and assist the industry in improving the quality, wholesomeness, safety, proper labeling, and marketability of fish and fishery products for the benefit of the consumer.

Below is a comparison of the two programs.

 

Element	Required by FDA HACCP Regulation	NOAA Program Assures
Scope	Safety	Safety Wholesomeness Economic Integrity Quality
Hazard Analysis
HACCP Plan
Sanitation SOP's
Corrective Actions
Verification Procedures
Records
Training
Import Requirements
The NOAA Program provides services beyond mandatory HACCP requirements:
Quality Plan	-
Quality Marks and Advertising	-
Pre-Approval of Plan and Labels	-
Training Certification	-
Consultative Services	-
Product Verification	-
System Verification	-
CODEX Standards and Codes	-
Export Certification	-
ISO 9000 Standards	-

U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA Fisheries • 1315 East West Highway • Silver Spring, MD 20910 • Phone (301) 427-8300 • Toll Free (800) 422-2750

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