Federal Responsibilities for Insuring Safe and Pure Fish Products

A survey of Federal responsibilities for insuring safe and pure fish products assessed: (1) whether actual or potential chemical contamination of fish products warranted a special testing program; and (2) the potential for coordinating Federal and State food inspection efforts. The survey disclosed a need for systematic, comprehensive testing of fish due to the widespread occurrence of toxic chemicals and suspected carcinogens in fish, discovery of concentrated chemical contamination in particular geographic areas, and potential for future chemical contamination problems. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to implement a special chemical contamination program for fish in fiscal year 1978. The program will contain elements necessary for assessing the health hazards of chemical contamination and should be aggressively monitored to assure timely and effective implementation. There is a potential for maximizing inspection resources by coordinating Federal and State food plant inspections to avoid having FDA and State inspectors at a plant within the same time period. The Commissioner of the FDA should emphasize close coordination with States to maximize resources.