The seafood industry should start preparing for greater FDA scrutiny and interference with seafood products from China.
The industry is quite familiar with FDA’s Import Alert 16-131, which requires testing all aquaculture from China for unapproved veterinary drugs (except for those lucky firms that have obtained an FDA foreign facility inspection). However, there is another countrywide import alert for Chinese products that the seafood industry is not acquainted with: Import Alert 99-30.
Import Alert 99-30 authorizes FDA districts to automatically detain any product from China that contains milk or milk-based ingredients, due to the presence of Melamine. Importers of product caught in the wide net of Import Alert 99-30 must test their products to prove they are not contaminated. This import alert has never been applied to seafood before. But this week that all changed.
The list of products covered by Import Alert 99-30 is vast, ranging from candy, cookies, and chocolates to beverages. In fact, many products on the list (by definition) do not contain dairy; however, FDA was so concerned that customs brokers would use the wrong product codes that the Agency made the list very broad. However, it has never contained seafood products – and still does not! But that is not stopping FDA from automatically detaining breaded seafood, such as shrimp from China. FDA has even rescinded recent releases after the product was successfully tested under Import Alert 16-131!
Our opinion is that FDA did not include seafood products in the list of products covered by Import Alert 99-30 because FDA’s evidence did not document melamine in seafood. Although the question has come up very rarely during conversations with FDA about the hundreds of shipments for which FDAImports.com has obtained FDA release, never before has FDA actually detained breaded shrimp under Import Alert 99-30.
This week FDA automatically detained several shipments of Chinese breaded shrimp under Import Alert 99-30. One of the shipments FDA had already released after reviewing private lab reports submitted under Import Alert 16-131 (related to unapproved antibiotics in aquaculture products).
This expansion of Import Alert 99-30 is both sudden and dramatic. It will apply to even wild-caught seafood, and more than just the five species covered by Import Alert 16-131.
We are challenging FDA over the issue. However, if you have shipments of any breaded seafood detained under Import Alert 99-30, contact us immediately for help.
