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humans. Doctors use it as a drug of last resort to treat typhoid fever and
meningitis. Nitrofurans and malachite green are potentially carcinogenic
in humans.
What happens when a shipment of filthy or toxic seafood shows up in
a U.S. port? Most likely, nothing. It enters the U.S. and unwitting
Americans eat it. The Food and Drug Administration has an inspection
program that is notoriously limited, underfunded and not at all transparent
– particularly when compared to its counterparts in Japan, Canada and the
EU.
In a study published last year, David Love, science director of the
Public Health and Sustainable Aquaculture Project at the Johns Hopkins
Center for a Livable Future, found that Japan physically inspected 12 to 21
percent of its seafood imports between 2004 and 2009. The European
Union goes even further, physically inspecting either 20 percent or 50
percent of all imported seafood shipments, depending on the risk of each
individual product. But the U.S. inspects less than 2 percent of seafood
imports.
Since 1997, the U.S. has relied on the Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points (HACCP) system (which some deride as Have a Cup of
Coffee and Pray). The system essentially turns control over to industry,
requiring it to identify and control for points in the production chain when
food might become contaminated. When done properly, it’s an excellent
system. But it’s fair to say that setting your family’s outhouse to flow into
your aquaculture pond does not constitute a good HACCP system.
Most of the time, the FDA relies on inspecting documentation to
verify that adequate HACCP programs are in place and that they are being
followed. (Because, you know, no one would ever falsify paperwork…)
For just over 1 percent of imported seafood shipments, the FDA performs
sensory examinations, checking for things like color, texture and odor.
These exams can easily discover whether the seafood is filthy or rotting,
but might not catch residues of veterinary drugs or microscopic pathogens.
Less than 1 percent of U.S. seafood import shipments actually go to a
lab for testing. Last year, a GAO report [4] titled “FDA Needs to Improve
Oversight of Imported Seafood and Better Leverage Limited Resources”