National Seafood Industry Survey Report on HACCP Implementation Completed
STONY BROOK, NY, June 15, 2000- Seventy-seven percent of the nearly 750
companies that responded to a recent survey of the U.S. seafood industry
reported that they would not have been able to comply with the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration's new Seafood HACCP regulation without the
in-depth training courses that were conducted across the country. This
finding is part of a 65 page report on the costs, benefits and impacts of
HACCP on the seafood industry compiled by New York Sea Grant Specialist
Ken Gall with funding support from the National Seafood HACCP Alliance.
The intent of the national survey was to document the time, effort, and
resources that the seafood industry devoted to implementing the FDA HACCP
regulation. It was also meant to identify potential changes or problems in
the process as well as to plan for additional training activities that
might be needed. Survey questionnaires were distributed to approximately
5000 seafood businesses in November 1999 that had completed an Alliance
training course. A total of 744 seafood businesses from 43 states and
three territories responded to the survey. Over half of these firms were
small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Almost sixty percent were
seafood wholesalers or distributors and 35 percent were seafood
processors.
Eighty-eight percent of the responding firms indicated that employees from
the firm developed their own HACCP plan, which averaged 68.7 hours to
complete with a range from 0.5 to 1,200 hours. The report also documents
the costs of HACCP implementation and the investments that seafood firms
made in time, equipment and infrastructure to meet the requirements of the
new regulation. Total costs averaged approximately $17,500 per firm for
the smallest firms and over $93,000 for the largest firms in the first
year. The report indicates that the overall impact of these expenditures
was 7 to 10 times greater for the smallest firms as compared to the
largest when reported costs were evaluated as a percentage of annual
sales. The seafood industry identified cost as the major disadvantage to
the HACCP system. Benefits included: better understanding and confidence
in the safety of their products; improved employee cooperation;
improvements in quality management; and greater efficiency in overall
operations.
Individuals or groups can request a copy of the full report by mail or
fax. To obtain a single copy via fax send a complete mailing address and
statement requesting the "National Seafood Industry HACCP Implementation
Survey Report" to (631) 632-8216. The same information can also be sent by
mail to: HACCP Survey Report, New York Sea Grant, 146 Suffolk Hall, SUNY
at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, N.Y. 11794-5002. Single copies of the report
are available for free to individuals or firms in the United States.
Individuals or firms from other countries must send a check or money order
for $5.00 in U.S. funds payable to Cornell University to cover shipping
and handling charges.
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