9-2 |
Seafood traceability in the U.S.: Current trends, system design and future applications |
M. T. MORRISSEY, Dept. of Food Science & Technology, Oregon State Univ., Astoria Seafood Lab., 2001 Marine Dr., Rm. 253, Astoria, OR 97103-3420, M. Thompson, Marine Resource Management, Oregon State Univ., 104 Ocean Admin. Bldg., Corvallis, OR 97331-5503, and G. Sylvia, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Oregon State Univ., Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 S.E. Marine Science Dr., Newport, OR 97365. Traceability of seafood the United States is still in an infancy stage. Recent food safety concerns in Europe, including BSE and the proliferation of biotech foods, have raised considerable attention to the need for quality assurance throughout the entire food chain and have prompted the US to institute a new policy of “Country of Origin” labeling. Despite growing concerns overseas, there is considerable opposition to full chain traceability and more restricted actions confined to food safety issues are preferred. However, the seafood industry, encountering an economy increasingly driven by consumer demand and concerns about quality, may face the need to regulate themselves and institute voluntary traceability to meet the demands of their buyers, both domestic and foreign. Increased demand of food traceability, both by the consumers and pending legislation, has created economic incentive to develop systems for complete traceability throughout the entire food chain. Many software designers are currently developing and testing business software to track seafood from the fisher to the processor, through the entire value-added food chain, to the consumer. Utilizing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), computers will have the ability to integrate with all aspects of seafood processing insuring complete traceability from “fish to dish”. With the inclusion of this data into a database, accessible by the public, consumer demands for quality and safety can be attained, while product recall procedures will become more precise, targeting only those batches that are affected. This paper will look at the current trends of seafood traceability in the U.S., including new legislation and how current regulations, here and abroad, may affect our seafood industry. We will also address the role of the consumer, their concerns about food safety, quality, sustainability, and health benefits, in dictating future change in the seafood industry and its impact on the traceability of seafood products in the U.S. The response of the industry to this change will be examined and on-going project studying the design and practical application of full traceability in the Northwest albacore industry will be discussed.
Session 9, Traceability for aquatic food products
|