Important Changes to European Union (Eu) Certification Requirements for
Live Molluscan Shellfish and Aquacultured Finfish
1) Live molluscan shellfish
Currently, shipments of live molluscan shellfish for retail/human
consumption to the EU are subject to the certification and public health
attestation as defined in Commission Decision 96/333/EC of 3 May 1996.
However, FDA has recently discovered that as of November 1, 2007
shipments of live molluscan shellfish must be accompanied by the public
health attestation of the public health and animal health certificate
defined by EC Regulation 1664/2006.
It is FDA's understanding that only the public health attestation
section of the certificate needs to be completed for product intended
for retail/human consumption. The animal health section of the
certificate is only applicable for product intended for grow out in the
EU and may be crossed out on certificates for retail only products.
For any shipments intended for grow out that need the animal health
section of the certificate completed, please contact the National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) at (301) 713-2355.
The EU has also requested a listing of all shellfish production areas
and associated codes. The information provided on the certificate must
match the information on the list or the exporter risks refusal of his
product by the EU. The FDA will maintain this list through coordination
with the state shellfish control authorities; and will post this list to
the CFSAN website and send an updated list to the EU member states
annually.
NMFS is preparing these certificates in dual language format for FDA and
NMFS use. These will be sent to the districts by email, as well as
posted on the CFSAN EU certificate website as soon as they are
available.
2) Aquacultured finfish
Shipments of aquacultured finfish to the EU intended for retail will
continue to use the existing certificate issued in accordance with
96/199/EC, providing they comply with current packaging and labeling
requirements, as outlined in 853/2004/EC.
Starting November 1st, 2007, for aquacultured finfish shipments other
than retail, an animal health attestation will be required. Firms will
need to contact National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Seafood
Inspection Program at (301) 713-2355 for that portion of the
certification. Previously, only in the case of live product was an
animal health attestation required and it was provided by USDA (APHIS).
If you have any questions please contact:
Barbara Marcelletti
Consumer Safety Officer
Division of Field Investigations, HFC-130
PH 301-827-5635
Fax 301-443-3757
=================
Pamela Tom
President, Pacific Fisheries Technologists
University of California
Food Science and Technology Department
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616 USA
E-mail: pdtom@ucdavis.edu Fax: 530/752-4759
Web: http://seafood.ucdavis.edu
59th Pacific Fisheries Technologists Conference
February 3-6, 2008 in San Francisco, CA
Web: http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pft2008
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