USDA issues proposed rule to start inspecting catfish
By JERRRY HAGSTROM
Nearly three years after the 2008 farm bill mandated that the inspection of catfish be shifted from the Food and Drug Administration to the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, FSIS today announced a proposed rule under which it would inspect catfish.
But the rule, which will be published in the Federal Register next week, will not go into effect anytime soon. It includes a 120-day public comment period ending June 24 on the definition of catfish.
The shift of catfish inspection from the FDA to FSIS is highly controversial because the FDA, a division of the Health and Human Services Department, is generally in charge of seafood inspection, while FSIS inspects only meat, poultry and egg products.
U.S. catfish farmers sought the shift on food safety grounds while Asian catfish farmers, particularly in Vietnam, have said that the shift is a protectionist act designed to make it difficult to sell Asian catfish in the U.S. market. USDA sent the catfish rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget months ago, where it languished while U.S. catfish farmers pushed for the rule to be finalized and Asian catfish interests threatened a trade war over it.
The farm bill provision required the Agriculture secretary to take into account the conditions under which catfish are raised and transported to processing establishments as part of the new inspection program, and to define the term “catfish.” Rather than issue a definition, the proposed rule provides two options and creates the comment period.
USDA noted, “One option is the current labeling definition in the 2002 Farm Bill, which includes all species in the family Ictaluridae. The other option is to define catfish as all species in the order Siluriformes, including the three families typically found in human food channels, including Ictaluridae, Pangasiidae, and Clariidae.”
The rule also says that everything labeled as “catfish” must bear either the FSIS mark of inspection or a mark of inspection from the country from which it was exported.
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., today urged catfish farmers and consumers to comment on the rule.
“The open question of defining catfish is the linchpin that could decide whether catfish farmers in Mississippi and in other states will be able to compete,” said Cochran, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The Catfish Farmers of America, an advocacy group, praised the rule in a statement today.
“We are extremely pleased that the USDA has recommended stricter regulation of catfish which will mean greater protection for American consumers,” said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America.
“The USDA has determined there is a clear need for a stronger catfish food safety inspection system,” said Lowery. “Now USDA needs to determine how many catfish will be included.” He said his group supports the USDA’s broader definition of catfish.
“We are certain that based on the food safety risks it cites in the draft regulation, USDA will determine that all catfish products – domestic and imported – sold in America should meet the same rigorous standards for quality and safety,” said Lowery. “That is the only way to ensure that every catfish sold in a grocery store or served in a restaurant or school cafeteria is safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren’t allowed here in the U.S.”
But Richard Fritz of the Denver-based Food and Agriculture Export Alliance, a group that represents exporters of U.S. meat, dairy, soybean, poultry and feed grain products, questioned whether the rule can meet a standard of basing regulations on scientific principle.
“I am unable to explain to trading partners how moving catfish from FDA to USDA improves food safety and is a risk-based scientific decision,” Fritz said in an email. U.S. food exporters have said they are worried that Asian countries, particularly Vietnam, would retaliate against their products.
The Embassy of Vietnam in Washington could not be reached for comment.
Nearly three years after the 2008 farm bill mandated that the inspection of catfish be shifted from the Food and Drug Administration to the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, FSIS today announced a proposed rule under which it would inspect catfish.
But the rule, which will be published in the Federal Register next week, will not go into effect anytime soon. It includes a 120-day public comment period ending June 24 on the definition of catfish.
The shift of catfish inspection from the FDA to FSIS is highly controversial because the FDA, a division of the Health and Human Services Department, is generally in charge of seafood inspection, while FSIS inspects only meat, poultry and egg products.
U.S. catfish farmers sought the shift on food safety grounds while Asian catfish farmers, particularly in Vietnam, have said that the shift is a protectionist act designed to make it difficult to sell Asian catfish in the U.S. market. USDA sent the catfish rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget months ago, where it languished while U.S. catfish farmers pushed for the rule to be finalized and Asian catfish interests threatened a trade war over it.
The farm bill provision required the Agriculture secretary to take into account the conditions under which catfish are raised and transported to processing establishments as part of the new inspection program, and to define the term “catfish.” Rather than issue a definition, the proposed rule provides two options and creates the comment period.
USDA noted, “One option is the current labeling definition in the 2002 Farm Bill, which includes all species in the family Ictaluridae. The other option is to define catfish as all species in the order Siluriformes, including the three families typically found in human food channels, including Ictaluridae, Pangasiidae, and Clariidae.”
The rule also says that everything labeled as “catfish” must bear either the FSIS mark of inspection or a mark of inspection from the country from which it was exported.
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., today urged catfish farmers and consumers to comment on the rule.
“The open question of defining catfish is the linchpin that could decide whether catfish farmers in Mississippi and in other states will be able to compete,” said Cochran, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The Catfish Farmers of America, an advocacy group, praised the rule in a statement today.
“We are extremely pleased that the USDA has recommended stricter regulation of catfish which will mean greater protection for American consumers,” said Joey Lowery, president of the Catfish Farmers of America.
“The USDA has determined there is a clear need for a stronger catfish food safety inspection system,” said Lowery. “Now USDA needs to determine how many catfish will be included.” He said his group supports the USDA’s broader definition of catfish.
“We are certain that based on the food safety risks it cites in the draft regulation, USDA will determine that all catfish products – domestic and imported – sold in America should meet the same rigorous standards for quality and safety,” said Lowery. “That is the only way to ensure that every catfish sold in a grocery store or served in a restaurant or school cafeteria is safe from contamination or harmful chemicals that aren’t allowed here in the U.S.”
But Richard Fritz of the Denver-based Food and Agriculture Export Alliance, a group that represents exporters of U.S. meat, dairy, soybean, poultry and feed grain products, questioned whether the rule can meet a standard of basing regulations on scientific principle.
“I am unable to explain to trading partners how moving catfish from FDA to USDA improves food safety and is a risk-based scientific decision,” Fritz said in an email. U.S. food exporters have said they are worried that Asian countries, particularly Vietnam, would retaliate against their products.
The Embassy of Vietnam in Washington could not be reached for comment.
