New FDA Requirements for Seafood Traceability

New FDA Requirements for Seafood Traceability

Seafood Traceability Requirements

Retailers, restaurants, and consumers have been very frustrated with the fraud and mislabeling of fish and seafood across the USA. A global review of seafood fraud studies around the world found one in five of more than 25,000 samples of seafood tested worldwide was mislabeled. In a bid to restore some consumer confidence back to the seafood industry, in November 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new ruling with respect to seafood traceability.

Key Data Elements & Critical Tracking Events

The list includes most kinds of seafood. The final rule is a requirement that persons who manufacture, process, pack or hold food on the Food Traceability List (FTL), must maintain records that include Key Data Elements (KDEs) related to Critical Tracking Events (CTEs). Seafood producers that qualify under these rules will be required to provide information to the FDA within 24 hours or otherwise some reasonable timeframe to which the FDA agrees. 

Time is running out for Food and Beverage companies, including fish and seafood processing plants, to build the automated infrastructure to support capturing such traceability information required under the new FDA rules. Food companies need to look for a proven solution like Emydex to support these new traceability requirements.

Fish & Seafood Processing

The FDA has aggressive deadlines, few exceptions, and no phase-in. The proposed rule would make compliance using paper-based systems nearly impossible. These rules apply to both domestic and imported fish, thus requiring all exporting countries like Canada, Europe, and UK to comply with these rules or be barred from trading in the USA. The USA currently imports up to 85% of its seafood, according to NOAA Fisheries.

To ensure the required traceability information is shared across all supply chain entities, the best way to implement the rule is for all persons to have completed the implementation of the rules by January 20, 2026. Although companies might think 2026 is a long way away, it can take up to 2 or more years to select and implement an automated solution to capture the traceability information to enable food processing software companies to be able to generate the traceability reporting within 24 hours.

End to End Traceability

Emydex provides the solution for effective and efficient tracing of the harvesting of fish or seafood from the vessel on the sea or farms, through receiving at the ports, to transfers to storage in cold stores or a processing plant, following the production process, the distribution and finally receipt at a retailer or other value add processors.