The Fish Utilization and Marketing Service (FIIU) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is mandated to assist Member States to strengthen fish safety and quality programmes and to promote the use of harmonized systems and standards developed by the Codex Alimentarius using scientifically based techniques such as risk assessment.
For a long time, FIIU resources and activities focused on training and assisting Member States, especially developing countries, in strengthening fish inspection and implementing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)-based safety and quality systems. This has helped many developing countries secure and expand market shares for their seafood export and it is currently estimated that over 50 percent of international fish trade (in value) originates in developing countries. However, much remains to be done to generalize HACCP systems and promote a harmonized approach to fish control in international trade.
This paper is based on a study that was undertaken to identify the major causes of detentions and rejections at borders and assess the control procedures of the main importing countries/regions, namely the European Union, the United States of America, Japan and Canada. Developing a good understanding of the control procedures and the causes of detentions/rejections is very useful for FAO, which can use the gained insights to tailor its assistance programme in the exporting developing countries and focus its work on the real issues for international harmonization and promotion of equivalence among seafood trading partners. It can also be beneficial for trading partners in their quest to reduce seafood wastages and fishborne illnesses, as well as for donors in their assistance programmes.
This study was initiated in late 2000 and took over three years to finalize in its present form. A major difficulty was accessing essential data and in a format useful for their exploitation. A significant volume of data was collected through personal contacts of the authors and their collaborators. Other data were collected from the Internet as they became available. However, the nature and volume of data available on the Web sites of the major importing countries are still insufficient and not fully adapted for this type of study. This report makes several recommendations for improving the data and their dissemination which would enable FAO to monitor the situation on a regular basis and adapt its international programme in fish safety and quality accordingly.
