To ensure proper handling of seafood during processing, in 1997 the federal government instituted HACCP — Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points — a mandatory food safety program that seafood processors are required to institute. Enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Maryland Department of Health, HACCP regulations focus on preventing human hazards from contaminating food.

As part of the HACCP procedures, seafood processors have to:

1. analyze potential hazards,
2. identify critical control points, and
   • establish preventative measures,
   • establish monitoring procedures,
   • establish corrective actions,
   • maintain effective recordkeeping
3. establish procedures to verify the system is working.

To help seafood processors meet the goals of HACCP, the National Sea Grant Program was instrumental in establishing The Seafood HACCP Alliance for Training and Education. Sea Grant Seafood Specialists work with the FDA, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the National Marine Fisheries Service, state agencies, and other organizations to put on HACCP training workshops and to produce educational materials that apply to plant operations.

HACCP Links

Sample HACCP Plan and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs)
HACCP Sites
Seafood Safety in Maryland -- So Far, So Good
(Maryland Marine Notes, November-December 1997)